Bastrop County ESD No. 3 Names Allen Johnson as New Executive Director

By Kristen Meriwether, Publisher

The Bastrop County Emergency Services District No. 3 board voted unanimously to name Allen Johnson their new executive director at a special called meeting on Wednesday.

Johnson, who resigned as a commissioner prior to the vote, has served as the vice president of the board since ESD No. 3 formed in January and brings decades of EMS leadership to the role.

He served as the executive director of Waller County EMS and spent more than 13 years as the operations manager, EMS director and eventually CEO of the Montgomery County Hospital District and its EMS service, according to his bio.

Johnson’s vacated board seat will be filled by the Bastrop County Commissioners Court. The court is expected to have an agenda item for its Nov. 24 regular meeting that will open applications to fill the seat.

The board also unanimously approved the request by Ernie Rodriguez, who was serving in the executive director role, to move to the position of director of performance improvement and decision support.

As we reported last week, Rodriguez asked the board to consider the change at the Oct. 29 board meeting.

“All of the work that I've done up to this point, the demand analysis, the strategic plan, has all been decision support, and I think the products have been good,” Rodriguez said at the Oct. 29 meeting. “They've helped you make decisions, and they've guided the organization in the direction we need to go.”

He added that he felt the executive director position should be held by someone with more experience in an ESD environment than just large EMS organizations, which was primarily his experience.

“The politics is different, the organizational structure is different, the reporting lines are different, and what I've discovered is I'm not so good at this,” Rodriguez told the board on Oct. 29. “I think you could find somebody that could do a better job in communication and a better job at driving as an ESD, rather than just a generic organization.”

Both role changes are effective immediately.

Voters Approve Elgin’s Inclusion in ESD No. 3

On Nov. 4, Bastrop County voters approved allowing the city of Elgin to join ESD No. 3, according to election night results from Bastrop County.

“We had a really high voter turnout for this election, which is a testament to our community's engagement and involvement,” Elgin Mayor Theresa McShan said in a statement. “The votes in favor of the ESD initiative speak to the importance of emergency services for our residents, and we believe that our partnership with the district will be of great benefit for the residents.”

The ESD board will canvass the election results in a specially called meeting next Friday, Nov. 14. Once the canvass is approved, the city of Elgin will run out its interlocal agreement and officially become a part of ESD No. 3 on Jan. 1, 2026.

The tax rate was set during the budget process in September and is 10 cents per $100 valuation. Elgin (including its ETJ) will have ESD No. 3 on its 2026 tax bill, which will be due at the end of 2026.

“Operating as a cohesive countywide system is beneficial for everybody, and ultimately the cost of doing so is less than operating as two separate systems,” Johnson said after the meeting.