News

Violators of traffic laws who failed to show up for their day in court will now have even additional time to make arrangements to take care of their tickets without fear of being arrested or receiving any additional fines. The City of McAllen’s Municipal Court Failure to Appear Amnesty Program has been extended once again to October 31, 2020. This year, the amnesty is being extended due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19 and the need to stay at home.

Emergency services districts (ESDs) provide vital first response services to more than 8 million Texans. Around 300 of these local special district governments serve communities across the state with fire protection and emergency medical services – including the Hays County ESD 5, covering approximately 70,000 living within the boundaries of ESD 5. Yet, many emergency services districts, like Hays County ESD 5, have so far been unable to access the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund, which was intended to assist local governments in their response to the extraordinary COVID-19 crisis. The consequences of ignoring this problem will negatively impact communities’ lifeline services.

Eight million Texans are served by an emergency services district (ESD) when they have fire or EMS needs. If you live in an ESD, when the fire truck or ambulance shows up, it is likely the ESD that is providing the service -- not the city, county or state. For many reasons, this is good news for Texans.