INTERIM. 5 Points Made about the Powers of MUDs. 3 Supporter Points.

Special districts, like MUDs- municipal utility districts- are getting closer scrunity from the Texas Legislature from stand alone committees to interim charges. 

The Houston Chronicle this week makes these points about the powers of MUDs: 

• MUD 187 in Ft. Bend was created in 2008 by the votes of 2 people living in a trailer on a large vacant plot of land that would become sprawling subdivisions
• MUD 187’s 2 voters also approved $188Million in bond authority
• MUD 187’s Moody’s bond rating is Baa3 which means it may have “certain speculative characteristics”
• The general problems with MUDs, bonds and debt:
  • “too high indebtedness
  •  insufficient state oversight
  • cozy relationships with developers
  • a lack of responsiveness to citizens and potential conflicts of interest”
• 1,751 active water districts in Texas, which includes 949 MUDs, with a total of $60 billion in statewide debt

Supporters of the current system say:

• Keeps housing prices down
• Makes development financially viable
• Allows growth to “pay for itself”

Houston Chronicle | Municipal Utility Districts in Texas have sweeping power to sell bonds, levy taxes