The Copper Canyon Town Council on Monday night approved $25,000 in financial support to Denton County Emergency Services District No. 1, joining a growing number of communities pledging financial assistance to the district working to climb out of a huge budget deficit.
In November, former Fire Chief Mac Hohenberger was indicted by a federal grand jury  on charges of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the firefighters’ pension funds. He has since pleaded guilty to federal charges and is awaiting sentencing.
As a result of Hohenberger’s alleged budgeting inaccuracies and expenditure misreporting, Denton County ESD No. 1 (formerly the Argyle Fire District) found itself with a budget shortfall of about $1.9 million this fiscal year. The district has been working on finding different solutions to the enormous problem, including seeking a credit line extension and asking the communities it serves to help it make ends meets.
The Lantana Education/Charitable Foundation recently approved a $300,000 grant to help with the shortfall, and the Northlake Town Council has awarded the district a $100,000 grant, roughly $10 per town resident. Two weeks ago, the Argyle Town Council approved a $56,000 grant for the ESD.
According to an ESD spokesperson, the ESD on Monday also received a grant from Tempur-Pedic for 18 brand new mattresses for its fire stations.
“Our previous mattresses received extra wear and tear during COVID-19 as extra cleaning was required at the end of every shift,” Megan Reynolds said.