Two Southern Denton County Water Districts Put $3.76 Billion in Bonds on the Nov. 3 Ballot

If you live in Denton County Municipal Utility District No. 7 or Northlake Fresh Water Supply District No. 1, your property tax bill for the next two or three decades could look different after Tuesday, Nov. 3. Both districts are asking voters to authorize large bond packages to fund water, sewer, drainage, and road infrastructure. The numbers are big.

What's on the ballot

Denton County Municipal Utility District No. 7 is asking for $2,295,321,000 in bonds for water, sanitary sewer, drainage and storm sewer systems, and organization and administration — labeled Proposition A on its special election ballot. That's the larger single ask of the two districts. Proposition B from MUD No. 7 adds another $1,020,586,500 for roads and paved turnpikes, including storm drainage. The district also carries Proposition C: $3,442,981,500 in refunding bonds to refinance existing water, sanitary sewer, drainage and storm sewer debt. All of MUD No. 7's propositions are labeled as tax increases on the official ballot.

Northlake Fresh Water Supply District No. 1 is asking for $542,775,000 in Proposition A bonds for water, sanitary sewer, and drainage and storm sewer systems; that proposition also includes authority to refund existing bonds of the same type, so the $542,775,000 covers both purposes within a single ask. Proposition B from Northlake adds $921,900,000 for roads and the refunding of existing road bonds. Short stops there. The district's Proposition C would set an operation and maintenance tax for water and sewer facilities not to exceed $1.20 per $100 of taxable property value. Proposition D would set a separate O&M tax for road facilities not to exceed $0.25 per $100 of valuation.

Why bonds, and why now

This is how water districts fund infrastructure they cannot cover out of annual operating budgets. A yes vote authorizes the district to issue the bonds; repayment comes through ad valorem — property — taxes, typically spread across 20 to 30 years. Several new development districts in southern Denton County, MUD No. 7 and Northlake FWSD No. 1 among them, are asking their voters to approve bonds that future homeowners in those areas will repay. That last part is worth holding onto: in a developing district, the people voting and the people eventually carrying the debt can be very different groups.

How to vote

Early voting for the Nov. 3 general election runs Monday, Oct. 19 through Friday, Oct. 30. Denton County residents can vote at any of the county's 54 early voting locations during that window, but on Election Day must go to the polling place assigned to their precinct. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

For Flower Mound residents voting early, five sites are listed in or near town: Denton County Southwest Courthouse at 6200 Canyon Falls Drive, Flower Mound Municipal Court at 4150 Kirkpatrick Lane, Flower Mound Community Activity Center at 1200 Gerault Road, Flower Mound Public Library at 3030 Broadmoor Lane, and Flower Mound Senior Center at 2701 W. Windsor Drive.

What to do before you vote

First: confirm you are actually in one of these districts. MUD No. 7 and Northlake FWSD No. 1 serve specific development areas, and residents outside those boundaries will not see these propositions on their ballot at all. Check your sample ballot and district at votedenton.gov. If the propositions are there, you're in. If not, you're not carrying this particular debt — though you are still voting on other races that day.

Voter box: Early voting runs Monday, Oct. 19 through Friday, Oct. 30. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Find your polling place, sample ballot, and precinct at votedenton.gov.