Search ... Wednesday, December 1st, 2021 Home Board Projects Services Parks & Recreation Other Resources Public Meetings 14 Dec Board Meeting Community Center 12/14 6:00 pm 6 Jan Board Meeting Community Center 1/6 6:00 pm 18 Jan Board Meeting Recreation Center 1/18 6:00 pm 1 Feb Board Meeting Recreation Center 2/1 6:00 pm Customer Service To protect our staff, we have temporarily reduced our staffing. Our customer service staff is available by phone Monday - Friday only Available by Phone Phone: 512-251-9814 Fax: 512-251-0890 Mon- Fri 6am - 8pm Sat - Sun Closed Email: Contact Us Physical Address: 3000 Shoreline Drive Austin, TX 78728 For Water and Wastewater Emergencies Call: Crossroads Utility Services 512-246-1400 Hot Topics The following topics have been presented to the Board at one time or another during the public comment session at Board Meetings. These topics have been assigned to a Board Committee or Consultant for further research or work. The information below is provided as a status update on these efforts. Mailbox Replacement 10/26/21 - According to Attorney General Ken Paxton, “The Wells Branch Municipal Utility District may not use its surplus funds to repair or replace cluster-type mailbox facilities that serve residences in the District." For the full history of this topic or to report any broken or vandalised mailboxes to the US Postal Service, see below. Any residents who have a broken or vandalised mailbox should report the incident to the US Postal Service. A link to the online report form can be found below: U.S. Postal Inspection Service Vandalism Report U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Publication 280 - Identity Theft, Safeguard your personal information 10/18/17 – The District has received a response from the Attorney General. In Summary, The Wells Branch Municipal Utility District may not use its surplus funds to repair or replace cluster-type mailbox facilities that serve residences in the District. The full response may be found below: AG Letter - KP-0169 4/18/17 - The District's legislative consultant has found a sponsor to request an Attorney General opinion on whether a municipal utility district has legal authority to expend public funds to replace USPS cluster mailboxes. We should receive a response in 2-3 months. 2/8/17 - The District’s attorney reported last night that the legal research phase had been completed and that it would soon be time to ask the District’s legislative consultant to help find a sponsor for a request for an Attorney General opinion on whether a municipal utility district has legal authority to expend public funds to replace USPS cluster mailboxes. 1/26/17 - The Board has directed the District’s attorneys to prepare the necessary documentation to request an opinion from the Texas Attorney General as to whether the District is authorized to spend public funds to repair or replace the U.S. Postal Service cluster mailboxes that serve the single family residences located within the District. The request for opinion is in process and, when finalized, the District’s legislative consultant will help locate a legislator who is authorized to file the request with the Texas Attorney General. Budget and Tax Rate Hearing At the September 14, 2021 Tax Rate hearing the Wells Branch MUD Board of Directors set the 2021 tax rate at $.3350 per $100 of valuation. This is $.035 less than the 2020 tax rate. Read more for resident questions and the District's answers about the 2021 tax rates and budget. Read more: Budget and Tax Rate Hearing 2021 Legislative Agenda 11/30/20 - A new session for the Texas Legislature will begin in January 2021. It remains to be seen how the current pandemic will influence how the session will be conducted and what affect it might have on legislative priorities. The Board of Directors, staff and consultants will continue to work closely with the District’s Legislative Consultant on any possible wholesale water rate legislation (as we have already been doing during this current Interim Legislative Session), as well as anything new that may come up related to the 2017 annexation legislation. City of Austin Water & Wastewater Rates 11/30/20-Earlier this year, the City of Austin withdrew its appeal to the PUC to drastically raise wholesale water and wastewater rates, seemingly intending instead to negotiate the rates, terms and conditions with each individual wholesale customer. The District is working diligently to hold the City accountable to its many wholesale customers, and the thousands of residents they serve, to charge fair rates which are based solely on the costs of providing the service and not additional general fund transfer costs that are not related to the provision of water and wastewater treatment, water conveyance or wastewater collection. 8/23/19 - Austin Water Utility has filed a notice of intent to change rates with the Public Utility Commission that if approved would result in a 56.5% increase to water and 13.8% increase to Waste Water wholesale rates charged to Wells Branch. The District and other wholesale customers are currently opposing the request. 8/25/17 - In May 2017, the Travis County District Court issued a final order denying the City of Austin’s appeal of the decision of the Public Utility Commission (PUC) directing the Austin Water Utility to reset wholesale water rates and to set new, lower rates for four local districts, including Wells Branch MUD. The City’s deadline to file an appeal with the Third Court of Appeals has passed. However, it is our understanding that the Austin Water Utility intends on petitioning the PUC to restore ALL of the significant cost categories that the PUC excluded previously from the City’s wholesale rate. Thus, the struggle to hold the City of Austin to the requirement to charge wholesale customers only for their cost-of-service is, unfortunately, not over. The District will continue to operate in a fiscally responsible manner and retain the difference in rates in a special fund to help buffer possible future rate increases. 1/26/17 - The City of Austin adopted new water and wastewater rates for wholesale customers in February 2013, including the rates charged to the District. This change resulted in a drastic rate increase and an increase in the number and magnitude of the transfers to cover the City’s general fund expenditures. At the beginning of the rate challenge filed by the District and three other water districts, there were approximately 20 such transfers, despite a previous 1989 decision from the Texas Water Commission directing that wholesale customers be charged only for “cost of service.” By doing this, the District believes that the City has downshifted much of the financial burden from the City to its wholesale customers for services, programs and facilities unrelated to the actual cost of providing our water and wastewater. In October 2015 and again in January 2016, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) issued an order directing the Austin Water Utility to recalculate wholesale water rates and to set new, lower rates for four local districts, including the District. Most recently, the City has filed an appeal of that PUC final order in District Court. The Attorney General of Texas, as the defender of the PUC, has joined the districts in the defense of the PUC’s ruling and its interpretation of its own rules and regulations. While the District and the other utility districts have prevailed to date, the appellate process is not over. The City has shown an unwillingness to settle, negotiate, or accept the PUC’s ruling. Thus, in an abundance of caution, the District has retained the difference in rates in a special fund for repayment to the City of Austin for that lost revenue, should the City ultimately win the appeal. If the districts win, then the Board may determine an appropriate mechanism for using the rate savings through future rate or tax decreases. Annexation 12/1/20 – There were no major changes to the 2017 annexation bill during the 2019 Legislative Session. As we enter each new Legislative Session, annexation will continue to be a critical focus. 10/8/18- A new legislative session will begin in January 2019. The District will continue to work with Legislators to refine and improve previous legislation for annexation reform in this upcoming session. 8/191/7 - Senate Bill 6, dealing with annexation reform, was introduced, passed, and was signed by Governor Abbott this month in the 2017 Special Session of the Texas Legislature. The District has actively supported this legislation because it allows residents of the proposed annexation area to vote whether or not they want to be annexed by a city. The WBMUD Board of Directors, District Manager, legislative consultants, and several residents have worked hard over the past several years to support such legislation by testifying at countless legislative committee hearings, meeting with legislators, and assisting with drafting language for bills and amendments to bills. Several districts in the Austin and San Antonio areas were also very active in parts of this process. The bipartisan effort gained support from private property rights advocates along the way, and eventually resulted in a change to state law that will give our residents on where they want to live, the taxes they pay, and how they want to be governed. Congratulations to Directors Shelley Palmer, Howard Hagemann, Moises Solis, Betsey Harper and Janet Maxey, District Manager Shirley Ross, and all of the residents of Wells Branch who helped with this effort. And, we extend a big THANK YOU to our state representative, Rep. Celia Israel, for her help and support for the citizens of Wells Branch in this effort. Short-term Rentals 3/9/20 - Recent legislation introduced in the regular Texas Legislative Session regarding short-term rentals did not pass, ending any State intervention on this issue for now. In the past, some of the short-term rental properties in the District have created noise and parking issues. If residents experience serious issues with a neighboring property that is being used as a short-term rental, please call 911 or 311 (depending on the severity) to report the disturbance to law enforcement authorities. You should document the incident and report it to us via info@wellsbranchmud.com. The District will continue to try to assist residents by contacting and working with the owner of the property to remind them that homes in Wells Branch MUD are to be used for single-family use purposes and continuous large, noisy, dangerous, and disruptive gatherings are not in keeping with residential neighborhood restrictive covenants. 1/26/17 - The District’s attorneys have researched issues concerning short term rentals in the District, including the relevant Restrictive Covenants. They are looking at recent case law related to this issue in Texas and have consulted with the Board. The attorneys sent correspondence to the owner of one property that has been used as a short term rental in an effort to inform the owner of the neighboring residents’ concerns and included the documentation provided by residents showing large groups, buses, and late night parties to see if a solution can be worked out before having to resort to a legal process. Additionally, the District Manager and attorneys recently met with the owner and explained that the District prefers to work out an amicable solution without resorting to legal action but that the situation must be addressed. The owner detailed significant measures taken to avoid disruptions in the future and has promised to document these actions in a letter to the Board. The owner has given assurances that such disruptions are a thing of the past. The District is also considering opportunities to address this matter legislatively. 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