Court approves $29,502 supplemental allocation to Lake McQueeney Volunteer Fire Department

The Commissioner's Court voted to allocate the remaining $29,502 in the volunteer fire department supplemental funding to Lake McQueeney (McQueeney) Volunteer Fire Department after several commissioners and the department representative described prior-year funding shortfalls.

A McQueeney representative told the court the department had not received $93,194 in county annual funding across fiscal years 2022 and 2023 and had also missed out on a $100,000 ARPA allocation other departments received; the representative described outstanding engine payments totaling $152,159.28 and asked the court to apply the remaining supplemental $29,502 toward restoring those prior unpaid allocations. "We are seeking that the $29,502 towards that $93,194 balance," the speaker said.

Commissioners debated whether the supplemental pot should be split among multiple departments or used to remedy McQueeney's historic shortfall. Supporters argued the other seven departments had received full allocations and that McQueeney had been penalized under a prior administration; opponents urged caution and said the line was designed for emergent department needs countywide. The motion to give the remaining funds to Lake McQueeney passed 4-1.