Three residents used the citizen-comment period at the Oct. 6 Garland City Council meeting to raise concerns about the recently approved MD Health Pathways telehealth program, homelessness services and the fire department budget.

Danny Starnes, who gave his address on the record, said the MD Health Pathways program automatically enrolled residents without consent and is "predatory," particularly for older residents on fixed incomes. "This program will present an undue burden on our elderly population," Starnes said, and he told council that, according to the city secretary’s office, 1,697 residents had opted out as of Oct. 1, 2025. He urged council to stop the program.

Michael Cooley, who identified himself as a homeless Garland resident, said local components of regionally awarded HUD grants and other homelessness resources have not produced the services he expected. Cooley referenced a Feb. 2023 HUD award to a Neighborhood Coalition initiative and said Garland received local funding for Emergency Solutions Grant programs and Housing Choice Voucher partnerships that he said "do not exist today." He urged the council to ensure that hiring commitments and local program resources — including agreements tied to economic incentives for large employers — are delivering employment and housing outcomes for Garland residents.

Carl Smith said he was hearing that the fire department was under budget pressure and raised the possibility of privatizing ambulance care. He connected the MD Health Pathways rollout, which he described as "poorly rolled out," to the council’s budget priorities and urged redirecting funds to fire services. Smith also said he had received no responses to emails to council members on the subject and alleged personal connections between MD and council staff; he did not provide evidence of financial conflicts during his remarks.

No council action or formal response to these citizen comments occurred in the meeting record; the session adjourned shortly after the public-comment period.