Katy ISD outlines remaining TIRS funds and plans to use reserves for emergency generator
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Katy ISD finance and operations staff told trustees on Oct. 27 that roughly $17 million remains in a sunsetting Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone fund and identified priorities for that money including an emergency generator replacement ordered after a catastrophic failure.
Katy ISD finance and operations staff summarized the status of the district’s Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRS) on Oct. 27, 2025, and identified several near‑term capital priorities the district may fund with remaining TIRS balances.
CFO Chris Smith said the TIRS arrangement — established in the late 1990s as a tri‑party agreement among the City of Katy, Katy ISD and the Katy Development Authority — funded infrastructure and bonds for facilities including the Leonard Merrill Center. Tax collections in excess of bond debt service have returned to the district over time; Smith reported roughly $36.6 million in excess tax collections had been returned to the district plus about $2.2 million in interest and that the current available TIRS balance was about $17.0 million.
Senior executive director of operations Nathan Fuchs outlined candidate projects for TIRS funding including lighting upgrades, roofing and building‑envelope work, display‑board replacements in the Merrill Center and the 1200s room, and resurfacing synthetic turf at Katy High School. Fuchs said the district prioritizes projects that reduce General Operating Fund costs (for example, lighting retrofits) or address end‑of‑life equipment.
Smith told the board that the ESC facility’s emergency generator experienced a catastrophic failure late last month and that the district has ordered an emergency replacement for roughly $500,000. He said the superintendent will recommend a budget amendment at the next meeting to use TIRS funding to pay for the generator because the system and other prioritized items are located on property within the TIRS boundary; using TIRS funds, Smith said, “does not compete for maintenance and operations dollars for salaries.”
Trustees asked clarifying questions about TIRS mechanics, the Katy Development Authority’s role, and whether any TIRS dollars had been spent on the Danover property; staff responded that the Danover lot work had been funded from the general fund and that no substantial TIRS transactions remain beyond minor items during the TIRS sunset process.
Ending: Staff flagged the emergency generator purchase and a forthcoming budget amendment to use TIRS funds. Trustees discussed project priorities and the benefit of using TIRS funds where appropriate to avoid asking voters for bond funding for some localized facility work.