Chad Jacoby for West Tawakoni City Council

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ATTENTION Everyone Needs to Understand the ESD DealWest Tawakoni residents need to slow down and ask serious questions a...
07/07/2026

ATTENTION Everyone Needs to Understand the ESD Deal

West Tawakoni residents need to slow down and ask serious questions about the proposed ESD before anyone supports another taxing district.
I am not against fire protection. I support firefighters, emergency response, and making sure our town is protected. But I am against creating another tax district before residents have been shown the basic documents, numbers, and legal authority behind it. Before West Tawakoni city limits or ETJ are included in any ESD, residents deserve clear public answers:

1. Who authorized West Tawakoni to be included?
Was this approved by City Council, the fire department board, the nonprofit, the county, or just pushed forward by a few people?

2. Did the fire department board ever vote on this?
If the volunteer fire department is a nonprofit, then the board/members should have a say before anything involving its building, equipment, donations, or operations is handed into an ESD structure.

3. Who owns the fire station, trucks, equipment, and donated assets?
If residents have donated money through water bills or city funding has supported the department, the public deserves a full accounting before anything changes.

4. Where is the petition and map?
Residents should see the actual ESD petition, boundary map, ballot language, and proof that West Tawakoni city limits and ETJ were properly included in the Petition .

5. What is the tax impact?
How much will this cost a homeowner? A business owner? A person already struggling with property taxes, school taxes, county taxes, city taxes, utility bills, and everything else?

This should not be rushed.

A new tax district is not a small thing. Once it is created, it is hard to undo. Residents deserve facts before being asked to give up local control and accept another layer of taxation.

My position is simple:

No documents. No authority. No clear service guarantee. No new tax.

Until the public sees the petition, map, legal opinion, fire board approval, asset ownership records, donation accounting, tax impact, and service plan, West Tawakoni should not support being included in this ESD.

This is not a vote against firefighters.

This is a vote against missing paperwork, unclear authority, another tax, and losing local control.

06/04/2026

For anyone who did not see the meeting, here is the simple version:

There is a proposal to include West Tawakoni in a new Emergency Services District, also called an ESD.

An ESD is a separate taxing district created to fund fire and emergency services. If approved, it could add another property tax on West Tawakoni property owners.

The proposal being discussed could tax up to 10 cents per $100 of taxable value.

I support our firefighters and emergency responders. That is not the issue.

The issue is this:

Before West Tawakoni taxpayers are placed into another taxing district, what specific improvements are we guaranteed to receive?

Do we get faster response times?

More paid staffing?

Better equipment?

A written service plan?

Local control over how the money is spent?

A seat at the table?

And if West Tawakoni does not join the ESD, what exactly changes? We already have fire service, volunteers, donations, city support, and grant opportunities.

So here is the real question:

Would you support another property tax without a written guarantee showing exactly what West Tawakoni gets in return?

Let’s clear this up once and for all, because there’s been way too much confusion about how this city is supposed to ope...
03/30/2026

Let’s clear this up once and for all, because there’s been way too much confusion about how this city is supposed to operate. This is not opinion. This is Texas law. The city council is the governing authority. Texas Local Government Code § 51.001 gives that power to the governing body, not to the mayor, not to individual council members, and not to decisions made behind the scenes. That means one thing: if it wasn’t posted on an agenda, discussed in an open meeting, and voted on by council, it is not an official action of this city The law is clear on process. Texas Government Code § 551.002 requires meetings to be open. § 551.041 requires proper notice of what will be discussed. § 551.042 limits discussion to posted items. No posting means no discussion. No discussion means no decision. No vote means no authority. The mayor’s role is defined in Texas Local Government Code § 22.042. The mayor ensures laws and ordinances are carried out, not created unilaterally, not changed behind the scenes, and not enforced based on personal direction. Individual council members have no authority outside a posted meeting. None. They do not direct staff. They do not make decisions. They do not act for the city on their own. City staff do not answer to individual elected officials. They answer through the chain of command and lawful council action, not private instructions, not pressure, and not politics. The law also addresses backdoor decision-making. Texas Government Code § 551.143 makes it illegal to intentionally circumvent the Open Meetings Act through private or serial discussions. § 551.141 actions taken in violation can be voided. § 551.144 criminal penalties can apply for illegal closed meetings.
This is why structure matters. Policy decisions, including employee benefits, cannot be changed without coming back to council. Switching something major, like a PPO to an HMO, without a posted vote is not a minor adjustment. It is a policy change, and it requires full council action in an open meeting. Anything else puts the city at risk.
So here is the rule everyone should understand: if it was not posted, discussed, and voted on in an open meeting, it is not an official action of this city.

That is not debate. That is the law.

03/26/2026

Last night’s vote on employee health insurance was one of the most important decisions we’ve faced as a Council. This was not a vote about choosing employees over roads. It was a vote about making sure a major change to employee healthcare was fully understood before being implemented. Employee health benefits are part of total compensation.
When a plan change may increase out-of-pocket costs, disrupt access to trusted doctors, or create uncertainty about medication coverage, those impacts must be carefully evaluated. I support improving our streets. I also support responsible decision-making.
Good governance means reviewing the facts, asking hard questions, and avoiding rushed decisions that could create long-term financial risk for our workforce and our City. I remain committed to working with every member of Council to find real, sustainable solutions that strengthen both our infrastructure and our employees’ wellbeing.

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West Tawakoni, TX
75474

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