League City council presses BMUD, developer for numbers on Midline annexation and tax safeguards

League City council members pressed Bay Brook Municipal Utility District (BMUD) officials and Midline developers for detailed financial projections and guarantees on a proposed annexation of part of the Midline development into BMUD, focusing on how League City taxpayers would be affected by municipal utility district (MUD) tax and utility rates.

The discussion centered on whether annexing some Midline acreage into BMUD would speed delivery of roads and utilities and whether League City residents would be exposed to higher operation-and-maintenance (M&O) tax rates, different water and sewer charges, or cross-subsidies of existing BMUD infrastructure.

A BMUD project spokesperson told the council that the proposal would accelerate construction of the Beamer Road project and other infrastructure, and that the utility and tri-party agreements include financial guardrails such as a hard tax cap and limits on bond maturities. The spokesperson said, “We believe Midline will be the new front door to League City and transformative to the region.”

Steven Eustis, who identified himself as the financial adviser for Bay Brook MUD, acknowledged the size of the current M&O rate and urged the council to review forward projections. “The M and O rate is much higher than we typically see,” Eustis said, and he said the…