Planning For the Future

Bonds are the most commonly used financing tool for water districts, like West Harris County MUD 10. These allow the District to establish what is in essence a voter-approved debt limit which cannot be used without the Board of Directors designating projects to finance, applying for and receiving the approval of the TCEQ and publicly advertising & selling bonds to get the lowest interest rate available. In order for a district to use a bond, it must be voted on by a district's residents. That process takes place in two parts, listed below:

Authorization

Before issuing bonds, a Municipal Utility District (MUD) must first get authorization from the voters within the District. The District will hold an election with a proposition reading:

"PROPOSITION A - THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS IN THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF $44,850,000 FOR WATER, SANITARY SEWER, DRAINAGE AND STORM SEWER SYSTEMS AND REFUNDING PURPOSES. TAXES SUFFICIENT TO PAY THE PRINCIPAL OF AND INTEREST ON THE BONDS WILL BE IMPOSED"

Voter approval grants the District the option, but not the obligation, to issue tax-supported bonds. No additional taxes are levied from authorization alone.

Issuance

After voter authorization, the District may issue tax-supported bonds from time to time as additional capital improvements are needed. Bond issuance is highly regulated and must comply with state laws regarding financial and other feasibility requirements. Each bond issue requires review and approval by the District's Board of Directors, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and the Texas Attorney General (AG).

Following a bond issuance, the District will levy and collect taxes on properties within the boundaries of the District to make necessary debt service payments. These payments are typically spread over the lifespan of the facilities or services funded by the bonds (often 20-30 years). This allows the District to spread the financial needs over time for property owners within the District who will benefit from the use of the facilities. Bond funds are issued incrementally as necessary, following initial voter authorization.

Authorizing “refunding bonds” does not increase the total amount of bonds. This refunding allows the replacement of existing higher interest bonds with lower interest bonds at such times when interest rates are more favorable.  Approval of refunding bonds during a bond election is standard practice which provides the District with the flexibility to replace higher interest rate bonds with lower interest rate bonds, which may allow for the District to lower the debt service tax rate. 

The proposed water, wastewater, storm sewer and drainage bonds in the amount of $44,850,000 are intended to finance the construction costs and engineering fees for maintenance and improvements to the public utilities that serve the residential and commercial constituents within the District.

The final project costs also include cost of contingencies, inflation, and all necessary professional fees, including but not limited to, engineering, legal, permitting, construction material testing, geotechnical investigation, and coordination.

The proposed infrastructure improvements include, but are not limited to, the following:

Wastewater collection system maintenance and improvements

Winchester Country Regional Sewage Authority WWTP Improvements

If you missed the Open House event or want more information on the Bond projects and funding, https://whcmud10.com/news/missed-open-house-catch-up-herevisit here.

Please click the link below to view Harris County's voting location map.

https://www.harrisvotes.com/Vote-Centershttps://www.harrisvotes.com/Vote-Centers

OFFICIAL BALLOT

WEST HARRIS COUNTY MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 10

PROPOSITION A

☐ FOR

THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS IN THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT OF

$44,850,000 FOR WATER, SANITARY SEWER, DRAINAGE AND

STORM SEWER SYSTEMS AND REFUNDING PURPOSES. TAXES

SUFFICIENT TO PAY THE PRINCIPAL OF AND INTEREST ON THE

BONDS WILL BE IMPOSED.

☐ AGAINST

https://tmc.tritoncg.com/documents/Notice%20of%20Election%20-%20WHCMUD10%20-%20Multilanguage.pdfNotice of Election

https://tmc.tritoncg.com/documents/Order%20Calling%20Bond%20Election%20-%20WHCMUD10%20-%20Multilanguage-1.pdfOrder Calling Bond Election

https://tmc.tritoncg.com/documents/Sample%20Ballot%20-%20WHCMUD%2010.pdfSample Ballot

https://whcmud10.com/documents?type=electionAll Election Public Documents