SHERMAN, Texas (KXII) – With a growing population and the rising cost of emergency services, Grayson County is trying to figure out how to keep everyone safe in the unincorporated areas of the county.

“None of us want to get that phone call from a county resident saying they couldn’t get an ambulance,” Grayson County Judge Bruce Dawsey said.

Dawsey said Grayson County is currently headed for a problem.

“We have always provided fire and EMS coverage to unincorporated areas through contracts with volunteer agencies and municipalities,” he said.

However, the cost of providing these services is constantly increasing.

“In just the two years I’ve been in office, we’ve gone from $1.5 million in fire and EMS coverage to $2.3 million,” Dawsey said. “At some point, there will be a tipping point where we can’t afford to cover everything.”

Now the county is asking the general prosecutor – what is their responsibility?

“This has nothing to do with whether we want to provide coverage or services,” Dawsey said. “It’s just a matter of how long do we continue to grow, can we continue to fund this reasonably?”

If the county is not legally responsible to provide those services, it would give them leverage when working with developers in those areas.

“We want to partner with them so they can help pay for those services through our contractual agreements,” Dawsey said. “If they refuse to provide any compensation for the reimbursement of that coverage, then there may come a time when the county government has to say we can’t afford this anymore.”

Of course, Dawsey said no one wants that.

“Our plan is to continue to provide funding to volunteer fire departments and municipalities so they can provide coverage to unincorporated areas,” he said. “We just have to come up with new solutions and out-of-the-box ideas.”

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