• One MUD director wants to eliminate the tax department - Why you should too
• Waste Fraud & Abuse? - Two out of three ain't bad, except when its your money
Way back in 2011 when Woodlands Water was called WJPA, MUD 36 director Kent Maggert sounded the alarm on significant waste and abuse amongst the Woodlands MUD. He was published in the Houston Chronicle IN 2013.
Here’s what he said in part ~
Property owners in The Woodlands recently received notice of their 2013 taxes. Have you ever wondered why you get a consolidated statement from the County Tax Office for all taxing agencies except your municipal utility district, which sends a separate statement?
As a director in MUD 36, I was aware the 11 Woodlands MUDs maintain a separate tax office at the Woodlands Joint Powers Agency. I also thought I knew that based on the allocated cost to MUD 36, taxpayers spend about $250,000 per year to maintain the tax department.
~Rather than endorse a transfer, the immediate reaction of the WJPA general manager and a majority of the trustees was to “circle the wagons” and attempt to justify retaining the tax department. First, our general manager gave us a presentation that the cost to maintain the tax department was actually $142,000 per year. He acknowledged that whichever cost number was used, it probably didn’t make economic sense to maintain the department,~
Maggert, an engineer by training, had a solution in mind after speaking with the late former Tax Assessor Collector J.R. Moore Jr.
Moore reckoned he could cover all 11 MUDs consolidated into the regular County Tax bill for around $10,000. Hey presto. No more TWO Bills and saving taxpayer dollars to boot.
Well, there has been a lot of water down the drain since then along with a lot of money. Now every year a line item appears on the Water Agency consolidated financial statement labeled TAX ADMINISTRATION, it explains each year the agency bills and collects various amounts from the member MUD districts.
That number billed each year runs in the neighborhood of $300,000. The math is fairly simple, if we generously allowed only the $250,000 level of of 2011 for TAX ADMINISTRATION then 15 years x 250k = $3,750,000.00
Somehow a majority of the 10 remaining MUDs like this program?
But what about today’s replacement fees to the County Tax Assessor? For that we look no further than the Woodlands Road Utility District #1 that these day actually holds its monthly board meeting in the Water Agency office. RUD #1 contract with the county at the annual collection rate which currently runs approximately Forty cents per parcel. The RUD’s entire collection fees for 2024 ran $1229.oo.
The RUD has a mere ~3000 parcels to tax whereas the Water Agency has collectively around ~50,000 parcels, applying Forty cents per parcel comes to $20,000.00, or lets be generous – $25K a savings of at least $225,000 per year.
So how can this waste and abuse be eliminated? YOU CAN STOP THEM. That will take an outcry from a significant number of attentive taxpayers.
These older MUD directors love their long standing positions. Thy want you and the friend an family to be proud of effort they put into looking out for you and making sure you have clean safe and affordable water supply.
You may know some of the old guard , as friends or neighbors. That does not matter, we all need to be able to speak up and tell MUD directors enough is enough. Stop wasting money. Woodland Water MUD directors are reticent to the masses be able to reach out to them. Unlike Montgomery County Hospital District board member who are a great example of open and accessible elected officials who have posted complete contact information on their website including direct cell phone numbers – your MUD directors have signed non consent forms for their info and hide behind the Agency website like so –
To contact a MUD Director, email information@woodlandswater.org. Include “Attn: [Director’s Name]” in the subject line.
I hope you will reach out to get rid of the Tax department.
https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/woodlands/opinion/article/Letters-to-the-Editor-9509958.php
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