Critical radio upgrade also needed
The Westhoff Volunteer Fire Chief spoke to DeWitt County Commissioners about the increasing challenges faced by the volunteer first responders.
Speaking at the regular meeting on July 14 on behalf of area VFD, Westhoff Chief Andrew Weikel said instead of trying to create a DeWitt County Fire District, their needs can be addressed directly by funding a special request for a radio update and increasing their current budget of $100,000 to $240,000.
Weikel said in addition to traditional fires, the VFDs also respond to oilfield fires, oil spills, auto accidents, extrications, medical assistance and many others.
“Each of these new emergency scenarios require specialized training and equipment,” Weikel said. “If our funding and operational structures remain unexchanged, I fear we may lose the volunteer fire service outside of the city.”
Other business at the meeting included recognizing a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Healthy School award as well as the DeWitt County Historical Society’s distinguished state award. The court also approved the placement of The Alamo Letter on courthouse property and a rental agreement in Yorktown for the Precinct 2 Justice of Peace.
On the VFD item, County Judge Daryl Fowler said that when he was first elected the handshake agreement was to pay $200 per firetruck callout.
Now the price per rollout is $400.
Weikel explained that sometimes a large bill, such as insurance, comes due and they haven’t had enough recent callouts to cover it.
He said at the height of the Eagle Ford Shale, oil companies were making significant donations to offset increased costs.
“We used to get consistent donations,” Weikel said. “It was always towards the end of the year. I'm pretty sure it was to keep it from the IRS, which I'm okay with, but that dried up as well.”
He talked about the added stress of holding fundraisers, especially the traditional sales of BBQ chicken plates.
“When you put the price of getting the chicken, the potato side and the beans and all that together, you're like, ‘We need to charge $20 for a chicken plate to start making a profit that's worth our time, unless we can get all of that donated,’ ” Weikel said.
He said although the commitment to serve the community remains strong among volunteers, there are signs of burnout.
“Our volunteers are tasked with protecting the community day and night,” Weikel said, “Sacrificing our holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, family and family events. In addition, we ask them to devote their scarce free time to fundraising efforts to purchase essential equipment for their own safety and that of the community.”
He highlighted common equipment expenses and the number of call outs needed to pay for it.
“New gear for each firefighter is $4,800 that is 12 calls,” Weikel said. “Air packs for hazardous situations cost $8,800 for 22 calls, and a single handheld radio is the price of about $11,000 translating to 28 calls.”
There is an urgent need for new radios, he said, because the current VFD radios are unable to communicate on the same frequency as neighboring county first responders when conducting mutual aid calls.
“This investment is crucial for enabling direct communications with neighboring county, state and federal agencies,” Weikel said. “Reliable and inter-operable communications during emergencies and disasters can be the difference between life and death.”
He formally requested a special purchase of handheld radios for all DeWitt County VFD.
Weikel’s second formal request was to raise the county VFD budget from $100,000 a year to $240,000.
He compared the VFD budget to that of the sheriff’s office because both are county-wide first responders. Currently, the VFD receives 17 cents per acre, Weikel said, whereas the sheriff’s office receives 36 times that. The requested increase would raise the VFD funding to 41 cents per acre.
“The increase will allow $14,000 to each department to help cover costs related to insurance, fuel and maintenance upgrade to emergency equipment,” Weikel said. “The remaining $100,000 would adhere to the current funding structures of $400 per call, thereby alleviating some of the financial burden upon our volunteers.”
He said other VFDs across the state are establishing fire districts to receive an allotted tax.
“They're all getting new buildings. They're getting new trucks,” Weikel said. “I don't think we could pass a new tax, nor do I think that we truly need to. I think there should be a way of working with our budget.”
Also at the Meeting
The court received a proclamation from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Healthy South Texas designating Yorktown Elementary School as a Healthy South Texas Recognized School.
Heard information from Chance Crow, director of Call Sign Victor, an international Christian support group for military and first responders recovering from PTSD.
DeWitt County Historical Commission - received 2024 Texas Historical Commission Distinguished Service Award Certificate: appointed Jason Obelgoner as a commission member for the 2025-2026 term. Also approved a contract with Joe Jones Construction for the exterior repair and restoration of the Sheppard-Bates House.
Approved the location for the construction and display of the Alamo Letter Society's placement of a granite monument and bronze replica of Col. Wm. Barrett Travis' Letter from the Alamo on the courthouse grounds in front of the flag pole on Gonzales Street. It was noted by project co-director Fain McDougal that other courthouses placed their monument facing the street, so those leaving the courthouse would stop to read it on their way out when in less of a hurry.
Approved a Saltwater Pipeline Lease Application from Repsol Services Company for installation of a saltwater pipeline along Seiler Road in Commissioner Precinct No. 3.
The next regular meeting of the Commissioner’s Court will be Monday, July 28, at 9 a.m.
