Princeton firefighters battled a mobile home fire north of the city in July 2023 with aid from Melissa, Blue Ridge, Farmersville and Lowry Crossing. Princeton is among the cities still considering whether to renew the interlocal fire service agreement. Photo Courtesy Michael O’Keefe – First Response Photography 

Some Collin County cities say they are running out of money to provide fire service to the 60,000 residents who live in the 75.5 square miles of unincorporated area. But county commissioners may soon be asked to hold an election to create a special district  to serve that need.

Since October 2013, the county has paid city fire departments to provide emergency service to residents in the city’s extra-territorial jurisdictions (ETJ) or nearby county land. 

The program began with 22 cities, but Melissa dropped out last year and the cities of McKinney and Farmersville have filed notice of termination effective Oct. 1 of this year. 

“The City of Farmersville, just like other cities, operates at a deficit when responding to unincorporated Collin County emergencies, and the tax-paying citizens inside of the city of Farmersville have to cover those costs,” Farmersville Fire Chief Greg Massey said in a Jan. 4 letter to citizens. “Currently, that deficit to city taxpayers is nearing $190,000 on the city’s operational budget for a fiscal year, based on Farmersville Fire Department emergency responses in unincorporated Collin County.”

Massey said city officials including City Manager Ben White and Mayor Craig Overstreet were continuing to work with the county to renegotiate terms of the agreement.

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