The former Branch Volunteer Fire Department station at 7777 FM 546 is now Princeton Fire Department Station No. 4. In the future, the station could be returned to local control. Bob Wieland/The Princeton Herald

Options to continue firefighting service for county residents all come down to timing and money.

The city of Princeton announced Monday, May 19, that it would end its contract with Collin County, effective Oct. 1. 

Fire Chief Shannon Stephens told the Tuesday, May 27, special meeting of the Princeton City Council that the city’s announcement was timed to coincide with similar decisions previously announced by McKinney, Wylie and Farmersville.

Stephens said the county contracted in 2013 with 22 city fire departments to provide service to rural residents for a combined sum of $950,000 and had never increased that total.

The chief said the county pays the city $150 for each service run outside the city limits — about one-tenth to one-fifteenth of the actual amount the run costs. 

PFD made 1,200 runs into the county in 2024, accounting for about one-fourth of the department’s budget, Stephens said.

Collin County commissioners will hold a July 28 hearing to decide whether rural voters will be asked in November if they want part of their property taxes to fund an emergency services district (ESD) that could renegotiate city contracts to resume service.

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By Bob Wieland  | [email protected]