As the east side of Harvest continues its rapid growth, Argyle officials say the cost of providing police protection has outpaced the current agreement — setting up a high-stakes decision that could reshape law enforcement coverage for thousands of residents.
Argyle may discontinue police coverage for a portion of the Harvest community if the Fresh Water Supply District does not agree to the town’s proposed fee increase.
According to a letter from the Town to Belmont Fresh Water Supply District No. 2’s Board of Directors, the current fee is $228.98 per household, which accounts for one officer to patrol that section of Harvest per shift.
The increased fee proposed by the Town is $1,790.45 per household, almost a 700% increase.
Argyle Town Manager Mike Sims said the increased fee will improve police coverage of Harvest to the likes of Argyle residents: 2.5 officers per 1,000 residents.
The Town had a study done to estimate the costs of expanded police service, which is how Argyle came up with the fee increase amount.
“It’s a level playing field concept because we don’t want to wait until there is a problem,” said Sims. “We have a very proactive approach to policing within our town limits – we’ve designed our force to prevent crime and take into account traffic problems. To translate that to [Harvest], we simply have to have more bodies.”
The possible changes arose as Argyle progresses in its plans to build a new town center and police building.
According to Sims, Argyle needs to know how many residents the new police building will have to accommodate, meaning the amount of officers and resources the police department will need.
“The size of the building, the number of police cars – all of that gets boiled down once the level of police service is decided,” said Sims. “In order to have a long-term relationship with Belmont Fresh Water District No. 2, we wanted them to have the same [rate] of police officers that [the Town] does.”
Sims anticipates the Town of Argyle will grow much slower than Harvest.
In the next 12-18 months, that area of Harvest is expected to have 4,000 residents, which will require resources for 10 officers to satisfy the rate of 2.5 per 1,000 residents.
“We’re going to grow fairly slowly because of the requirements in place for large lots,” said Sims. “On the other hand, everything in Harvest that’s ever going to get built already has a permit… so they’re going to be playing catch up with the number of officers.”
Plus, Sims said increasing residents in Harvest without proper police staff could stress Argyle PD.
“If we aren’t at the same level of service, I’m asking a lot of my police department to provide high service [in Argyle] and just visit [Harvest] occasionally,” he said. “That’s a bad staffing model.”
The fee increase would be part of a 30-year contract Belmont FWSD No. 2 would have to sign with the Town that can not be canceled, since it aligns with the Town’s financing of the project.
Part of the fee increase is also Harvest residents’ contribution to the cost of Argyle’s town center and police building’s construction.
An update from Belmont Fresh Water Supply District No. 2 indicates the District’s Board of Directors is against the deal.
“The Board has determined that it would not be in the best financial interest of the District’s residents to agree to the Town of Argyle’s proposal to enter into a 30-year contract or increase the per-household charges to $1,790.45, which would result in a significant tax increase to our residents,” read the update. “We have since informed the Town’s leadership of our decision.”
The district’s current contract with the Town of Argyle expires on April 30, 2027, if it is not terminated earlier by the Town.
Sims said discussions are still ongoing and nothing has been finalized, but a decision must be made soon as plans for the police building progress.
The district said Argyle PD will continue to patrol the community while negotiations are underway and, in the event of termination, calls will be responded to by the Denton County Sheriff’s Office, the Town or nearby jurisdictions.
The next Belmont FWSD No. 2 Board meeting will be held on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the HOA Hub meeting room.
The next Argyle Town Council meeting is on Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m. at Argyle Town Hall.
