Grayson County commissioners are set to approve two of the agreements that decide who answers fire and ambulance calls outside city limits for the year that began Oct. 1.
The contracts with the City of Whitesboro and the Tom Bean Volunteer Fire Department sit on the consent agenda for the Commissioners Court's 10 a.m. Tuesday meeting at the courthouse in Sherman. Sarah Somers of the county's emergency management office is listed as presenting the request.
Whitesboro: fire protection and ambulance service
Under the interlocal agreement with Whitesboro, the county would pay the city $43,313 a month, due by the 10th of each month, with the first payment due by Oct. 10. The term runs from Oct. 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027, which works out to $519,756 over 12 months.
In return, Whitesboro would extend the emergency ambulance and fire service it gives city residents to people living in an unincorporated area the agreement maps out in two exhibits, one for fire and one for EMS. Each ambulance would have to be equipped to a mobile intensive care unit level of service.
The city would set its own rates for 911 and non-emergency transports without county approval, and the county takes no part in billing or collections. Whitesboro would send monthly operating reports to the county, with the first due Nov. 15, and would join after-action reviews of emergencies when the county's emergency management office asks.
The county could hold back payments if the city falls short on the services.
Tom Bean: a smaller fire-only deal
The agreement with the Tom Bean volunteers covers fire protection only, in the department's primary service area outside any city, as shown on a map attached to the contract. The county would pay $26,532 for the year, in monthly installments of $2,211.
The department would agree to file a state fire incident report within two weeks of the end of each month in which it answers a call, report each wildland fire to the Texas A&M Forest Service system within 14 days, notify the county's emergency operations center before sending crews outside the county for anything other than mutual aid with neighboring counties, and keep its books open to county inspection.
