Municipal Utility Districts in Texas have sweeping power to sell bonds, levy taxes
MUD 187 came to be when a Houston developer arranged for two people to move their trailer onto a 519-acre site on the edge of Richmond in Fort Bend County, which at the time was an empty field. As the only “residents” within the municipal utility district’s boundaries, the couple headed for the polls in November 2008. The ballot asked whether the state’s approval of MUD 187 should be confirmed and whether the district should be authorized to sell up to $188 million in bonds for water and sewage systems, drainage, parks, recreational facilities, roads and a fire station. The vote was unanimous – 2-0. “That’s not how democracy is supposed to work,” said Clifford Gay, a retired construction superintendent who now lives in Del Webb Sweetgrass, a retirement community that owes its existence to MUD 187 – and the taxes it is levying to pay off $24 million in bonds.
