Firefight in Pflugerville
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There’s an old saying “don’t cut off your nose to spite your face!” Voters in Pflugerville might want to remember that when they vote this November – in what has become a very nasty “Firefight in Pflugerville”.
Just north of Austin, Pflugerville is exploding in population.
In May, the city council awarded a private ambulance company Allegiance another controversial 911 contract.
Along with a 1.3 million dollar raise.
Rejecting a more expensive offer by the government-run Pflugerville Fire Department.
But was it really worth it?
“The wayIsee it we have an A-team and a B-team and I’m not going to rely on the b team to come in and save lives,” said Councilman Ceasar Ruiz.
The mayor warned it was a huge mistake. An Allegiance paramedic had killed someone.
But the council put a price tag on public safety. Will voters in Pflugerville do it again this November?
City manager Sereniah Breeland brags about bringing diversity equity and inclusion to Pflugerville.
“I do like to glance under the table in a meeting and make sure that we have varying shoes under that table,” said Breeland.
That is peachy, but when I showed up at Pflugerville city council the other day I was worried more about the quality of public safety in that town. You know, life and death stuff.
Because after months of asking, Breeland fought release of any investigative reports of Allegiance Ambulance. Even after one of their paramedics killed John Samerigo.
And almost killed another guy the week before.
John’s widow says it is lack of training. We’ll soon know what the city did if anything because the Texas Attorney General has just ordered the documents be released.
“The person who caused his death did not have the same type of training that the ambulance service from the fire department have,” said Lynn Samerigo.
When the city brought in Allegiance Ambulance, it promised taxpayers it would monitor the company through “a robust set of performance metrics.”
But we now know the city manager has been allowing Allegiance to routinely violate its contract without any financial consequences.
She has also been told of continued questionable medical treatment documented by Pflugerville firefighters on the same 911 calls.
We read the new contract, it requires monthly reports explaining when response times exceed eight minutes and what went wrong.
“With this provider as we’ve already seen in the past it can be deadly,” said Nick Perkins.
We asked to see those reports, one of those ‘robust’ metrics they talked about.
“When we asked the city about it, they said we waived that requirement in the contract,” said Wayne Dolcefino.
The city waived it without even telling city council.
We also thought the council and taxpayers needed to know the problem with the numbers Allegiance is giving the city. They simply defy belief. Like a claim 13 seconds to get to a cardiac arrest call.
“I’d be more than happy if you tell me that you’re going to conduct an investigation into whether or not theirs falsifying their response time records because I think the data suggests they may be,” said Dolcefino.
Breland and the council said nothing.
But after we first told you Lynn Samerigo’s horror story a few weeks ago I got an earful on Facebook from this guy, Terry Newsome.
Newsome hates paying taxes, and I don’t blame him. The city of Pflugerville has the second highest tax rate in the area.
And he doesn’t like the emergency service district board that runs the fire department here.
ESD members are appointed by the county commissioners… not elected directly by the voters.
That’s a legislature’s problem.
I don’t like unelected boards either but can see why public safety may be different. I watched ESD elections in the state be easily manipulated.
Cypress Creek EMS took advantage of the horrible voter turnout in ESD elections to install a puppet board that protected corruption there for years.
That really cheated taxpayers.
Newsome complained like other vocal residents that the city wouldn’t have needed Allegiance if Travis County ESD 2 had not stopped providing ambulance service to the city.
“They weren’t fired they quit,” said Newsome.
“Why don’t you actually set the record straight” he told me.
I’ve battled corrupt ESDs for a decades.
Busted crooked fire inspectors who falsified records so they could drink in topless bars on duty.
But I’ve always gone to bat for firefighters when they’ve been cheated on their pay.
And after a head-on car accident in West Texas that almost killed me seven years ago, I know firsthand that well trained first responders can literally save your life
Recently our investigative team caught Acadian Ambulance – the same company that Allegiance replaced in Pflugerville- falsifying their response times in Port Arthur.
Complaints about Allegiance brought us to Pflugerville.
So I’ll accept Mr.Newsome’s challenge and before you say it. Mr. Newsome I’m not being paid a penny by ESD 2 to wade into this fire fight Pflugerville.
Melody Ryan has been an outspoken critic of ESD 2, argued on tv voters should take their half a cent sales tax away from the fire department this November to potentially create the cities own ambulance service.
After a long legal fight over the words on the petition, the Texas Supreme Court ordered an election this Fall.
The Pflugerville fire chief warns a yes vote this November would essentially defund the fire department.
“It would essentially remove about forty percent of our budget. Laying off fire firefighters which means we wouldn’t be able to staff fire trucks we would close at least three fire stations,” said Chief Perkins.
Responses time could end up being up to 20 minutes and that could mean a hike of up to 50% in property insurance rates for the very people wanting to take the sales tax away.
“They’ve had more money than they know what to do with,” said Anthony Nguyen.
There is no doubt the ESD 2 has a lot of money in the bank.
More than thirty million bucks. Reserves to borrow money at lower interest rates and to be ready for disasters, wildfires, and deadly freezes.
Under state law an ESD cannot issue bonds like a city for new fire stations, like the one that opened up on Weiss Road last year. Or to buy new fire trucks.
Talk about inflation, in the early days a fire truck in Pflugerville cost $5,000.
Wait till you hear what just one new truck costs today.
“So, a new fire truck is between 1 and 1.2 million and it takes four years to get it.” said Perkins.
“When we show up at three in the morning, we can’t have equipment failures. Things have got to perform,” said Perkins.
I don’t know about you, but the best damn fire truck money can buy.
“Do you really want a used fire truck coming to your house when you ask for help,” aske Dolcefino.
Nguyen replied, “Probably not. If it’s in working condition and maintainable condition. Yeah, but you can always find a more economic way with the funds you have.”
Folks who want you to abolish the fire department sales tax this November cite a tax vote in 2014 as justification for their anger today.
“They had claimed that they were going to use that sales tax dollars for ambulance services,” said Nguyen.
But we looked back the language of that vote didn’t say it was for ambulances, it was for money to train firefighters to become paramedics. So they could treat serious medical conditions while waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
Today 29% of the 240+ firefighters of ESD 2 are paramedics.
That’s what Pflugerville and the surrounding rural area were paying extra for, not ambulances.
I hate to talk history, but it’s important here because Pflugerville was used to see an ESD ambulance arrive when they called for help. So it’s logical to cry foul when they disappear.
But ESDs were created to fund firefighting in rural areas. State law puts a cap on how much they can charge on property taxes. That’s why ESD 2 has sought sales taxes to help pay for services.
Pflugerville is less than a third of the area of ESD 2 but 40% of all the calls for help.
And a study two years ago by the Perryman Group showed that ESD 2 actually was providing Pflugerville cheaper fire service than virtually any city run department in the area.
The city of Georgetown, similar population and public safety way more expensive.
Back in the day, Travis County commissioners paid Austin EMS to handle all ambulance calls in Pflugerville. Half the calls weren’t being answered.
The ESD 2 offered to help, bought an ambulance. Right or wrong they never got the promise funding to do the job.
Today, with the help of extra sales taxes another ESD provides ambulance services in most of their 77 square miles.
But not the city of Pflugerville where voters rejected the extra sales tax to keep paying for it.
But even Nguyen admits a city run fire department is not the answer.
So this fight really boils down to control, but there’s no guarantee the Pflugerville city council would use the sales tax money it would take for public safety if they get their hands on it.
That’s the name of the group that’s been waging the campaign against the Pflugerville Fire Department.
But you learn an awful lot when you look behind the curtain, who’s paying the bills for the $135,450 campaign to get Pflugerville residents to fight against the fire department.
Two men are paying for much of the vote yes campaign. Tim Timmerman his company and family 42,500.
And 80,100 from Robert Tieman. None of them returned our calls, but an audio tape details a threat Tieman made against the ESD if they don’t ask the legislature for an elected board.
“If that doesn’t happen will get a jihad…,” said Tieman.
They are all developers. Timmerman doesn’t even live in Pflugerville.
They could all stand to benefit if Pflugerville uses the extra money to cut deals with developers they could then install ESD board members and dictate where fire stations are located..
“There is a councilman who is actually profited from filing lawsuits. The developers are paying this individual to file lawsuits,” said Trevor Stokes.
Dave Rogers replied, “I’m sorry that’s a fucking lie. You’re a liar go to hell.”
Pflugerville city councilman Dave Rogers erupted after filings detailed his financial connection to the group funded by developers.
More than $21,199 in labor reimbursement and paid petitioners.
And Terry Newsome, he’s been reimbursed for Facebook ads and a banner.
We hope that sets the record straight.
Public safety is expensive, we’ve all seen what happens when you put a price tag on it.
So has Lynn Samerigo, who is facially blind and now alone.
“Outside of losing my partner, I’ve lost my advocate. I’ve lost the person that helps me navigate the world,” said Lynn Samerigo.
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