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Josephine MDD votes to forward interim budget to city council, seeks legal guidance on staff-cost rules
Summary
The Josephine Municipal Development District approved forwarding an interim budget of roughly $6,000–$9,000 to the city council, including a proposed $5,000 marketing line, and voted to seek formal legal clarity on whether city staff costs may be charged to MDD funds under Texas law.
The Josephine Municipal Development District voted to forward an interim budget to the City Council for the council’s July consideration and possible approval, a measure intended to fund basic operations through Oct. 1 while the district finalizes its full fiscal-year plan.
Whitney Bear (Committee member) moved that the interim budget discussed — an estimated $6,000 to $9,000 to cover marketing, travel, supplies and limited professional fees — be presented to the city. The motion was seconded and passed with all present members voting in favor; David Reed was absent.
The board discussed three draft budget options for the Oct. 1, 2026–Sept. 30, 2027 fiscal year, including scenarios that vary meeting frequency, city-subsidized staff time and the share of funds reserved for projects. Staff noted a $5,000 marketing line and a flagged legal-fees estimate of about $2,400 for short-term needs. A separate motion to adopt option one with a $64,000 reserve for administrative services also passed unanimously among members present.
Legal constraints dominated debate. City attorney Sarah Ross cautioned that Texas Local Government Code section 377 and the Texas Comptroller publication cited in the meeting restrict using development-project funds to costs directly tied to a project; incidental attendance at a meeting, she said, generally can't be charged to the MDD unless tied to a documented project. Board members asked for a formal opinion; the board voted to seek attorney-general or controller guidance to clarify which city staff costs the MDD may reimburse.
The board directed staff to present the interim budget to the city council in July and to pursue written legal guidance on allowable reimbursements and procurement thresholds before committing substantive staff-cost line items.
Next steps: staff will forward the interim budget to city council; the MDD will follow up on a legal opinion and revisit final budget adoption after receiving clarified guidance.
