The North Fort Bend Water Authority (NFBWA) was established in 2005 as part of the Fort Bend Subsidence District’s (FBSD) Regulatory Plan to control subsidence. The NFBWA was established by the Texas legislature, which established the 141-square-mile limit and regulated how it would get financing to carry out its purpose of preventing subsidence. The FBSD establishes groundwater reduction targets for the NFBWA to meet.
The NFBWA’s efforts have already decreased groundwater usage by more than 30% in the area, far exceeding the first FBSD 2014 requirement. They are currently creating the necessary infrastructure to cut groundwater usage by 60% by 2025, in order to reach the next FBSD milestone.
The NFBWA is the umbrella organization for the Groundwater Reduction Plan ( “Participants (GRP) To ensure a plentiful and cost-effective source of water that is not groundwater, the phrase “surface water” was coined “a different source of water If each retail water provider had to get their own water rights to an alternate water source and create the infrastructure to transport the water, the cost would be exponential. The NFBWA assumes responsibility and obligation for adhering to the FBSD’s requirements.
The NFBWA does not accept tax monies to help pay our infrastructure and operations expenditures, unlike retail water companies. Our water usage fees are the only source of revenue for NFBWA, which allows us to carry out our vital mission of preventing subsidence in our neighborhood. Retailers are charged fees, which are then passed on to the customers.
The main bulk of the NFBWA charge is used to fund large-scale infrastructure projects that will provide a reliable source of surface water to our area, preventing over-pumping of our valuable groundwater aquifers, which causes subsidence.
What does the acronym Nfbwa stand for?
The North Fort Bend Water Authority (NFBWA) was established by the 79th Texas Legislature in May 2005, when Senate Bill 1798 was passed and Chapter 8813 of the Special District Local Laws Code was established.
Fort Bend County, what is my mud district?
Welcome to MUD 23 of Fort Bend County. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality founded the Fort Bend County Municipal Utility District No. 23 (the “District”) in 1978. The District is located in Fort Bend County and covers roughly 1303 acres of land.
What is the Fort Bend County mud tax?
MUD 129 tax bills will be included in Fort Bend County’s consolidated tax bills beginning this year. MUD 129 will not be sending you a separate tax bill.
The current tax rate for 2020 is $0.2925 per $100 of assessed value. MUD 129 has been managed to drop its tax rate for the fourth year in a row while still providing high-quality services to its people. Please contact MUD 129 by clicking here if you have any questions.
In Texas, what is a mud?
A Municipal Utility District (MUD) is one of several types of special districts that operate as self-contained governments with restricted powers. The goal of a MUD is to give a developer a different way to pay for infrastructure including water, sewer, drainage, and roads.
In Texas, how many mud districts are there?
A municipal utility district, or MUD, is a governmental subdivision of the state of Texas constituted by the Texas Legislature or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, similar to a county or a school district.
The state creates a MUD to supply water, sewer, drainage, park and recreational amenities, and roadways over a limited region.
What Do MUDs Do?
MUDs provide municipal services in areas that are not part of a city, where a city cannot afford to provide these services, and/or where the city wants the new development to pay for the new infrastructure.
General Information About MUDs in Texas
More than 1,200 active special districts and over 1,700 total special districts exist in Texas, the majority of which were established on territory outside of municipal borders. Special districts, such as MUDs, are home to more than a million Texans.
The Woodlands, Clear Lake City/NASA, First Colony, Sienna Plantation, Cinco Ranch, Shadow Creek Ranch, Bridgeland, Cypress Creek Lakes, Fairfield, Copperfield, and your community, Towne Lake, are just a few of the master-planned communities that have adopted MUDs.
What Laws Govern the Operation of MUDs?
MUDs are severely regulated political subdivisions in Texas. Unlike Home Rule Cities, which have all rights unless they are expressly revoked, MUDs can only exercise those powers that are expressly assigned to them in the Texas Water Code or other particular legislation.
The Texas Constitution gives MUDs their authority.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Attorney General’s Public Finance Division, cities, counties, and the US Environmental Protection Agency all have jurisdiction over them.
The Texas Open Meetings Act and the Public Information Act apply to MUDs.
Conflicts of interest, nepotism, penal code provisions, ethics guidelines, gift laws, and other issues affect MUD Board members.
How Does a MUD Operate?
A MUD is managed by a five-member Board of Directors, who are originally chosen by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and then elected by the MUD’s inhabitants. In even-numbered years, Harris County MUD 500 elections are held in May. Only registered voters are allowed to vote in this election, as in all statewide elections.
Similarly to City employees, the MUD hires expert consultants to advise the Board and assist with the MUD’s day-to-day operations.
What is the Role of a Developer in a MUD?
The creator:
- The Texas Legislature or the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality are asked to create the MUD.
- Based on its land plan and development timeline, it determines the requirement for water, sewer, and drainage systems.
- Funds and builds private infrastructure that is required for development (internal streets, signage).
- Provides the MUD with all of the funds it requires to construct its infrastructure.
General Information About Issuing Bonds
The MUD submits a bond application to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality at the direction of the Board, with the help of the MUD’s engineer, attorney, and financial advisor (TCEQ). The TCEQ certifies the projects for reimbursement to the developer as well as the amount that the MUD can reimburse the developer. The bonds are then reviewed by the Texas Attorney General to confirm that they are in conformity with Texas law.
This is a tightly controlled procedure (streets must be completed; sufficient water, sewer, and drainage capacity for all the growth projected; enough value on the ground to support the bonds).
What is the best way for me to pay my Fort Bend MUD taxes?
Cash, check, and most major credit cards are accepted at all sites for property tax payments.
PaymentExpress, a third-party service provider for government payments, charges convenience fees.
What is the property tax rate in Fort Bend County?
For the 2021 tax year, the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District increased the assessed value of 80 percent of residences.
The overall value of residences in Fort Bend climbed by 6.5 percent from $69.2 billion in 2020 to $73.7 billion in 2021.
Based on a 2.7 percent tax rate and 80 percent of the value taxable, the total tax levy for Fort Bend homeowners in 2021 is anticipated to be $1.59 billion.
Based on the figures above, the average property tax for a Fort Bend County homeowner would be $6,566.
This study is based on an assessment of 242,428 homes with a final value of 2020 and a noticed value of 2021.
The assessed value of the majority of Fort Bend homes has increased:
- The assessed value for 2021 has increased by 80%.
- In 2021, the assessed value will remain unchanged at 1%.
- Assessed Value for 2021 has been reduced by 19%.
When compared to the 12.5 percent increase in median home values in the Houston metro region over the last year, the 6.5 percent assessment increase seems minor.
The house with the highest assessed value in Fort Bend County is worth $7.2 million.
In Fort Bend County, there are 1,689 homes worth $1 million or more.
These homes are worth a total of $2,561,002,881, with an average of $1,516,284.
Based on a 2.7 percent tax rate and no homestead exemption, annual property taxes for a home valued at $1,516,284 would be $40,940.
Over $1 million homes saw an average assessment increase of 8.5 percent, significantly above the county average of 6.5 percent.
For 1,890 Fort Bend properties with a homestead exemption, the assessed value in 2021 is less than $100,000, including 12 with a $10,000 noted value.
The deadline to file a property tax appeal in Fort Bend County is either May 15th or 30 days after the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District sends the 2021 notice of assessed value.
Homeowners in Fort Bend who file an appeal will almost certainly see a reduction in their property taxes. Across the state, 85 percent of property tax appeals were successful, resulting in an average savings of $500.
In Texas, are mud taxes deductible?
The MUD tax is a property tax that is based on the assessed value of your home and is deductible if you itemize deductions. This can be found under Federal Taxes > Deductions & Credits > Your Home in the Property Taxes interview.
In Texas, how much do mud taxes cost?
The Municipal Utility District No. 89 (the “MUD”), like the City of Houston (the “City”) and Montgomery County, is a governmental subdivision of the state of Texas. It only performs limited governmental tasks, such as providing water, wastewater, drainage, and solid waste collection services. The MUD is not located inside any municipal lines, however it does fall within Houston’s extraterritorial authority. The Legends Ranch MUD encompasses the entire complex. Municipal Operating Consultants, Inc., the MUD’s contractor, manages the MUD’s day-to-day operations, including services and billing (“MOC).
How was it created?
In 2002, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (the “TCEQ”) issued an order that established the MUD. The City agreed to the MUD’s formation and has remained uninvolved in its administration. The TCEQ continues to monitor the MUD’s water and wastewater services, and MUD facilities must comply with City requirements.
How is the MUD governed?
The MUD is controlled by a five-member Board of Directors who serve four-year terms in staggered order. In May of each even-numbered year, the MUD holds elections for two or three of its offices. A person must be eligible to vote in Texas (e.g., a US citizen) and either live in the MUD or own real property in the MUD to be eligible to serve. The MUD’s five directors are all MUD residents and taxpayers.
What does the MUD do, and not do?
Within its limits, the MUD provides retail water and wastewater services. Although the MUD shares ownership of some water infrastructure with adjacent Montgomery County Municipal Utility District No. 88 and Spring Creek Utility District, the MUD’s water supply and wastewater treatment are provided by plants owned and controlled by the MUD. The MUD also manages the MUD’s storm water drainage system, which is located within the MUD’s limits. The MUD contracts for garbage collection for single-family homes inside the MUD and does not charge a fee for this service. The MUD is not responsible for the upkeep of the roads or landscaping.
How does the MUD pay its way?
According to a Rate Order approved by the Board and revised from time to time, the MUD charges customers for water and wastewater services. A debt service tax is levied by the MUD to pay off its bonded debt, while a maintenance tax is levied to aid with operations. The MUD is in charge of contracting for solid waste collection, but does not charge a separate fee for the service, which is funded by other MUD earnings.
What is the MUD’s tax rate?
The MUD assesses a property tax on every taxable property within the MUD, which varies year to year. The current tax rate is $0.71 per $100 of taxable property. The debt service tax is $0.46, while the maintenance tax is $0.25. This rate has decreased from $1.39 in 2003, when the MUD first imposed a levy.
What Texas counties have mud taxes?
“That’s not how democracy works,” said Clifford Gay, a retired construction supervisor who now lives in Del Webb Sweetgrass, a retirement community that exists because of MUD 187 and the taxes it is levying to pay off $24 million in debts.
According to IRS statistics, bond issuance expenses are as high as 9%, so Gay and his neighbors are concerned about how high those taxes will get if more bonds are sold. Moody’s has given MUD 187’s bonds a Baa3 rating, indicating that they may have “some speculative features.”
MUDs and other so-called special purpose districts are sprouting – and selling bonds – at a rate that many experts within and outside government find increasingly alarming across bright-red Texas, where many politicians laud limited government and low taxes. They point to high debt levels, a lack of governmental monitoring, close partnerships with developers, a lack of citizen responsiveness, and potential conflicts of interest as reasons. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality or the Legislature can create MUDs.
According to John Kennedy, senior analyst for the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, a nonprofit located in Austin, their growth throughout the grasslands that originally encircled Houston and other areas has contributed to “increasing dissatisfaction” about the property tax burden in Texas. According to Kennedy, many taxpayers, such as Gay, find it difficult to keep track of all the property tax bills they receive from counties, school districts, MUDs, and other special purpose districts.
“Those special purpose districts out there exist in a semi-netherworld,” he continued.
According to the state, Texas has 1,751 operational water districts, a type of special purpose district tracked by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, ranging from big river authority to small irrigation districts, including 949 MUDs.
Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties account for 44% of the 1,751 districts. There are 389 MUDs in Harris County, 146 in Fort Bend County, and 85 in Montgomery County, accounting for 65 percent of the 949 MUDs.
MUDs are the most popular sort of water district among developers in Texas, in part because they have a lot of say in how they’re built and can issue tax-exempt bonds to finance the developers’ infrastructure expenditures.
Given their broad authority to sell bonds and collect taxes, taxpayer groups increasingly see them as a problematic means to pay for infrastructure in the face of rising local government debt.
In Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties, 207 water districts have been established since 2000, with voters approving more than $39 billion in bonds to be spent for various infrastructure projects. According to the most recent financial audits that water districts are required to report to TCEQ, there is more than $60 billion in outstanding debt statewide.
