Voters in the Lakehills area of Bandera County have approved a new property tax district aimed at putting paid firefighter-paramedics and a dedicated ambulance back in a community where emergency crews have sometimes taken 40 to 45 minutes to arrive. The measure, Proposition A, creates Bandera County Emergency Services District No. 2 and passed with 1,187 votes in favor to 698 against in the Nov. 3 election.
The new district authorizes a property tax of up to 10 cents per $100 of taxable value on top of existing county taxes, according to the Bandera Bulletin. That maximum rate is not automatic, but if it is eventually levied in full, a $100,000 home would see about $100 in additional annual tax, a $250,000 property would see about $250, and a $500,000 property would see about $500. Proposition A supporters projected the district could generate approximately $700,000 a year in revenue at that full rate, while informational materials for the measure estimated a future ambulance contract could cost up to $680,000.
For Javier Salinas, chief of the all-volunteer Medina Lake Volunteer Fire Department, the vote caps years of pushing for faster help in a sprawling, rural stretch of the county. Salinas, who started firefighting as a volunteer in San Juan in South Texas before joining the Medina Lake department six years ago, called the district's approval a victory for the community, according to KENS 5. He told the station the district marks a personally meaningful milestone after six years with the department.
Long Waits Drove the Push for a Local Ambulance
The push for a dedicated Lakehills ambulance has been building for a while. A 2024 presentation to the Bandera County Commissioners Court cited an average countywide ambulance response time of 11 minutes, but estimated response times of up to 31 minutes for some homes near Lakehills, per the Bandera Bulletin. That same year, a presentation by retired professor Henry I. Bussey recommended deploying a full-time ambulance and crew in Lakehills and making response-time data publicly available, according to the Bandera Bulletin's earlier reporting.
Risé Martin, treasurer of the fire department's board, told KENS 5 that the nearest Bandera EMS station, located near Polly Peak along Highway 16, is about 17 minutes from the edge of the fire department's service area under good conditions. For residents farther along Medina Lake, she said, ambulance waits can reach 40 to 45 minutes. Local volunteer firefighters often arrive first, Martin said, but they have limited availability and capacity to provide medical care once they're there.
Salinas said paid emergency crews stationed locally could cut that response time in half. He wants at least one ambulance based at the department's EMS building, staffed by two trained firefighter-paramedics, with firefighters and paramedics eventually available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, along with better equipment and more advanced training for the crew.
Call Volume Has Climbed Sharply
The need has grown alongside a jump in call volume. Salinas told KENS 5 the department responded to 366 calls so far in 2026 and is projected to exceed 400 calls by year's end — up from an average of 17 calls a month two years earlier, which the department says amounts to nearly double its monthly call volume. The department now averages about one emergency call a day, with roughly 70 percent of those calls being medical emergencies, according to the same KENS 5 report. The Bandera Bulletin separately reported that the department handled 324 calls in 2025, including 152 medical calls.
All of that falls on a crew of just 12 active volunteer firefighters. Martin told KENS 5 that department volunteers sometimes pay for their own training, certifications and fuel out of pocket. The department's current EMS building in Lakehills houses its brush trucks and rescue boat, though it hosted an ambulance for much of the day five or six years ago; an EMS building across from the fire department can house two ambulances once funding allows.
What Happens Next for the New District
Passage of Proposition A doesn't flip a switch on new services right away. The district must still establish its governing board, organize its finances, and determine how to fund and provide emergency services, balancing ambulance costs against staffing, training, equipment and facility upkeep. The Bandera County Commissioners Court will appoint five commissioners to oversee the district, and candidates must be at least 18 years old and either reside in the district as qualified voters or own taxable land within it. Applicants were asked to email [email protected] by Nov. 15.
Those appointed commissioners will be responsible for building out district operations and deciding how the voter-approved funding becomes actual emergency resources on the ground. Salinas said he hopes to have an ambulance contract in place by the end of 2028, and that he wants the Medina Lake Volunteer Fire Department to remain at its current location while expanding its capabilities. A community meeting on the district is scheduled for Monday at 6:30 p.m. at St. Victor Fellowship Hall in Lakehills.
Bandera County's other new district, Emergency Services District No. 1, had a far tighter margin, passing by just 11 votes, 463 in favor to 452 against, per the Bandera Bulletin. Together, the two measures create new funding mechanisms for fire protection and emergency medical services across both the Medina and Lakehills areas — though for now, residents who've waited decades for a nearby ambulance will have to wait a bit longer still.
