Montgomery reviews $24M in water, sewer and drainage needs; staff proposes rate, grant and developer funding options

Montgomery City Council members and staff on Jan. 13 reviewed a portfolio of capital improvement projects for water, sewer and drainage and discussed rate, grant and developer-funding options to close a multi‑million‑dollar gap.

At a city workshop meeting, staff summarized project updates — including an unexpected tank foundation replacement at Water Plant No. 2, a higher-than-estimated design proposal for the Town Creek wastewater plant and a major anticipated utility-relocation bill associated with a TxDOT 105 project — and asked council for direction on next steps, rate scenarios and where to look for outside funding.

Why it matters: staff told the council the projects the city must address or is committed to could total “almost $24 million.” Council members were shown an impact‑fee account balance of about $681,666 and a rate-analysis that, under one proposed structure, would raise the average combined water-and-sewer residential bill from about $52 to about $63 per month and generate roughly $750,000 a year in additional system revenue. Staff and the council noted that rate increases alone would not close the funding gap and discussed borrowing,…