The Ellis County Press: Fire board president resides outside district

Fire board president resides outside district
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Editor on 09/11/2008 14:53:00


JOEY DAUBEN and MEGAN GRAY
The Ellis County Press
FERRIS - Mark Hope serves as president of the Emergency Services District No. 5
board, but he resides outside of his Ferris-area district.
Congressmen are allowed to live outside of their districts and still continue to
serve, but County Attorney Joe Grubbs' office told Commissioner Dennis Robinson,
whose road and bridge precinct covers ESD No. 5, state law allows for an
exception if the board member owns land in the district.
Hope told _The Ellis County Press_ he would continue to serve; the county said
since Hope's house is for sale in the district, he can still be eligible to
serve. The other requirement, according to state law, states board members must
be eligible to vote within the precinct.
Routinely, when members of city councils and school boards move outside of their
district, they are forced to resign their position.
There are nine ESDs in the county, created by the state Legislature to lay and
collect taxes for funding certain functions of rural and volunteer fire
departments. Members of those boards are nominated and appointed by the
four-member commissioners' court.
Though not a voting member on the court all the time, the county judge is
responsible for accepting and approving the expense reports and receipts from
each of the nine ESDs in the county.