About the district
What is WTC MUD #1?
Williamson-Travis Counties Municipal Utility District No. 1 is a local unit of Texas government. It serves about 562 acres in Williamson and Travis counties with water, sewer, drainage and other services. An elected board of five directors runs it, and it can levy property taxes.
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A MUD in plain words
- It is a government, not an HOA. The Texas Constitution created this kind of district as a unit of government.Tex. Const. art. XVI, §59(b); WC 54.011
- It provides services. Water, wastewater and drainage, plus powers such as street lighting.WC 54.012; WC 54.201; WC 54.236
- Five elected directors run it. Four-year staggered terms. A director must own taxable land in the district or be a qualified voter there. Any action needs three votes.WC 54.101; WC 54.102; WC 49.052; WC 49.053; WC 49.103(a) ("staggered four-year terms")
- It taxes and borrows with voter approval. Voters approve the operations tax and a maximum bond amount. The board sets the rate each year within state limits.WC 49.107; WC 54.505
- Its meetings and records are public. Except closed sessions the law allows, and committees smaller than a quorum.WC 49.064; WC 49.065
- The state supervises it through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).WC 54.024
How district taxes work
The same rate does not mean the same tax. Your bill also moves with your home's value.Required tax-hearing notice wording, WC 49.236(a)(1): "Your individual taxes may increase at a greater or lesser rate, or even decrease, depending on the tax rate that is adopted and on the change in the taxable value of your property in relation to the change in taxable value of all other property." See it with real numbers (separate site).
Protest your value before the appraisal review board, not the MUD.Tax Code 41.41(a)
The rate has parts
Runs the district. Voter-approved.
WC 49.107Pays the bonds. Who votes on bonds
WC 54.601; WC 54.505Pays voter-approved contracts. Not every district has one.
WC 49.108How the board sets the rate each year
- Notice. Published or mailed before the hearing, with the proposed rate and how each director voted, if they voted.WC 49.236
- Hearing and vote. Residents can speak. Three votes adopt the rate.Speaking: Gov't Code 551.007(b). Votes: WC 49.053
- Election if the rate is over the limit (in a developing district, only if voters petition).WC 49.23601(c); 49.23602(c); 49.23603(c)
Bonds: who votes, and when
Residents vote on a maximum amount. The approval stays in effect, so the board can sell bonds up to that amount over many years with no new resident vote. Most projects also need TCEQ approval.Vote: WC 54.505. Approval "remains in effect after the election unless the district is dissolved": WC 49.106(e). TCEQ approval for projects its rules require it to review: WC 49.181(a)
WTC MUD #1: voters approved $25,751,525 in 1985. The $5,810,000 Series 2026 bonds used the last of it, so no vote was needed in 2026. Only $3,671 is left, so new tax bonds would need a new vote.Official Statement for the Series 2026 bonds (August 26, 2026), citing the June 18, 1985 election. Refunding bonds need no vote (WC 54.505).
Which limit applies
WTC MUD #1 is a developed district for 2025 and 2026.Minutes of August 25, 2025 and July 15, 2026 An election is automatic if the total tax on the average home rises more than 3.5%.Exact test, WC 49.23602(c): an election is required only above the "mandatory tax election rate" (1.035 times last year's total tax on the average homestead, plus the unused increment rate) and never at or below the voter-approval rate (this year's debt and contract rates, plus an M&O rate 1.035 times last year's M&O tax on the average homestead, plus the unused increment rate). If voters reject the rate, it becomes the voter-approval rate. Low tax rate districts are excluded (49.23602(b)).
Other district categories and terms
Developed districtWC 49.23602; worksheet: Comptroller Form 50-860
WTC MUD #1 in 2025 and 2026- Who
- Built and financed 95% of its planned system.
- Election
- Automatic if total tax on the average home rises more than 3.5%.
Low tax rate districtWC 49.23601; worksheet: Comptroller Form 50-858
- Who
- M&O rate of 2.5 cents or less.
- Election
- Automatic above 8%.
Developing districtWC 49.23603; worksheet: Comptroller Form 50-858
- Who
- All other districts.
- Election
- Above 8%, only if voters petition.
Disaster areas can use the 8% test for a time.WC 49.23602(d); worksheets at Comptroller property tax forms
Terms
- Average homestead
- The average value of owner-occupied homes in the district.
- Voter-approval rate
- A rate at or below this never needs an election. If voters reject a higher rate, the rate falls back to this one.WC 49.23602(c): "An election is not required if the adopted tax rate is less than or equal to the voter-approval tax rate."
- Unused increment
- Room left over from recent years when the board set a lower rate than allowed.Tax Code 26.013
Deed restrictions
A MUD may enforce recorded deed restrictions, such as parking or fence rules, within these limits:
- What
- Recorded restrictions not "abandoned, waived, or properly rescinded."WC 54.237(a): A "restriction" is "a limitation on the use of real property that is established or incorporated in properly recorded covenants, property restrictions, plats, plans, deeds, or other instruments affecting real property in a district and that has not been abandoned, waived, or properly rescinded."
- When
- When, "in the reasonable judgment of the board," enforcement "is necessary to sustain taxable property values in the district."WC 54.237(b): The district "may take all actions necessary to enforce a restriction, including the initiation, defense, or intervention in litigation ... when, in the reasonable judgment of the board of directors of the district, enforcement of the restriction is necessary to sustain taxable property values in the district."
- Costs
- If it wins, it recovers "its costs and reasonable attorney's fees."WC 54.237(c), in addition to damages
Laws that govern the district
WTC MUD #1 facts
- Type
- MUD under Water Code chs. 49 and 54District audit, FY2023, Note 1
- Created
- May 22, 1985, by state orderOrder of the Texas Water Commission (now TCEQ). TCEQ water district record ("Creation Date: 05/22/1985"); 1985 board minutes. The district's audits say "created effective March 27, 1985."
- Confirmed by voters
- June 18, 1985The same election chose the first directors and approved bonds and a maintenance tax. TCEQ water district record ("Confirmation Date: 06/18/1985"); June 1985 board minutes
- Area
- 562.48 acres546.53 acres at creation plus 15.95 acres annexed. TCEQ water district record; Bond Application Report No. 9 (2026)
- Homes served
- About 1,900wtcmud1.org/our-district
- Board
- Five directors; elections in November of even yearsMoved from May by board resolution, January 18, 2012 (minutes of January 18, 2012). WC 49.103(b): May of even years "unless a district holds its general election for officers on a date as otherwise provided by statute". Election Code 41.0052 as amended by SB 100 (2011) and in effect in 2012; the current 41.0052(a) excludes municipal utility districts.
- Tax-rate category
- Developed district (2025, 2026)Board resolutions: Minutes of August 25, 2025 and July 15, 2026
- State record
- TCEQ Water District Database entry