Cedar Hill seeks authorization to update interlocal fire/EMS agreement with DeSoto and Duncanville

Fire Chief briefed council on a refreshed interlocal agreement among Cedar Hill, Duncanville and DeSoto to continue a regional automatic-aid system that dispatches the closest unit to 911 calls across the three cities.

"Automatic aid is what we're discussing in this agreement, and that's help that's already rolling," the Fire Chief said, describing a system that treats the three cities as a single closest-unit response network. The chief said the nine-station system protects about 145,000 residents and is credited as part of Cedar Hill's ISO Class 1 rating. He recommended council authorize the updated agreement as written and said legal language was modernized and agreed to by the three cities' attorneys.

The chief highlighted that a forthcoming Cedar Hill peak‑time ambulance will be written into policy to "serve Cedar Hill and Cedar Hill only" and that other aspects of the regional response model will remain flexible. He also said the updated agreement adds the regional emergency manager into decision-making and carries forward closest-unit response as the mission.

Council members asked detailed questions about accountability, whether Cedar Hill could safely withdraw, and how to ensure partner cities meet capacity obligations. The chief and council discussed options short of withdrawal, including placing a peak-time ambulance in Cedar Hill, collecting more data, and working with partner cities and hospital districts on resource balance. The chief said there is no direct new cost in the updated language presented and the agreement continues to renew on a one-year basis.

Action status: staff presented an item to authorize the mayor to execute the updated ILA; formal approval is on the council agenda and will follow standard consent/agendized procedures.