Sources & methodology
Where the numbers come from, and how to check them. Where a figure is approximate or a claim couldn’t be independently confirmed, it’s flagged on the page it appears.
How the data is handled
Methodology in brief
- Primary records first. Financial figures come from ESD 2’s own audited financial statements and adopted budgets wherever possible, not from press coverage.
- Charts are rebuilt, not copied. Every chart was redrawn from the underlying numbers, and each includes a “view the data” table.
- Approximate values are flagged. A few operational figures, like call counts read off published dashboards, are rounded and labeled that way.
- Recent-event details are flagged. Some specifics of the 2026 vote come from news reporting and will be updated as official records are published.
- Corrections welcome. Documented errors will be fixed.
Primary documents
The record
Independent studies (AP Triton, LLC)
Commissioned by the City of Pflugerville and posted on the City’s Fire & EMS Assessments page:
- Fire & EMS Assessment: Service Options for the City (June 2021) — the “self-imposed” and “unsubstantiated” findings.
- EMS System Valuation Study (Sept/Oct 2021) — payer mix, unit-hour costs, and the finding that the ambulance system could pay for itself.
ESD 2 financial records
- Audited financial statements, FY2016–FY2023. 2023 audited total net position: $57,375,127; unrestricted: $35,956,027.
- Adopted budgets and the FY25 proposed budget (dated 8/5/2024).
- TCESD 2 2023 Annual Report (10,553 medical vs. 332 fire calls).
- ESD 2 EMS response-time dashboards (2020–2023). Posted at pflugervillefire.org.
City of Pflugerville
- Official Fire/EMS assessments & timeline.
- City Council actions and contract records (Acadian; Allegiance Mobile Health 2022 and 2024–2028 contracts).
Court & election records
- Supreme Court of Texas, No. 23-0595 (opinion May 24, 2024) ordering ESD 2 to call the sales-tax election.
- Writ of mandamus petition filed on behalf of Pflugerville voters (2023).
- Travis County official election canvasses (Nov 2021 ESD 17; Nov 2024 Prop A).
For context
National benchmarks & Texas law
| Used for | Source |
|---|---|
| Call composition (fires ~4%, EMS/rescue ~64% of runs) | USFA/FEMA fire department run profile (NFIRS 2020) |
| U.S. fires down ~45% since the 1980s | U.S. Fire Administration statistics |
| All-career departments ~9% of ~29,452 U.S. departments | NFPA U.S. Fire Department Profile |
| 8-minute ALS response standard (90th percentile) | NFPA 1710 |
| National EMS response averages (suburban ~6 min) | Mell et al., JAMA Surgery, 2017 |
| Fire spending per capita (~$100–$200 typical city, rough) | U.S. Census-derived spending data |
| ESD governance, tax caps, appointed boards | Texas Health & Safety Code Ch. 775; SAFE-D |
National figures are published averages and professional standards, used for context. A large all-career combined fire+EMS budget is expected to run higher than a volunteer department.
Reporting
News coverage referenced
Contemporaneous events, especially the 2023–2026 developments, draw on local reporting from Community Impact, KXAN, KVUE, KUT, CBS Austin, Fox 7 Austin, the Austin Monitor, and the Austin American-Statesman / Pflugerville Pflag. Key figures attributed to reporting:
- Nov 2024 Prop A result (failed, ~68% against): KXAN, Community Impact, CBS Austin.
- July 2026 council vote (service returned to ESD 2, six-year contract, ~$1.9M/yr, effective Oct 1, 2026): KXAN, Community Impact.
A few specifics of the most recent vote (exact roll-call and some contract terms) come from news reporting and may be refined as official records are published. Where these figures and a later official record differ, the official record governs.