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Former resident urges Murphy to use consent authority, set debt caps and negotiate SPAs for MUDs in ETJ
Summary
A former Murphy resident recommended the city proactively use its 90-day consent window on municipal utility districts proposed in the ETJ, attach design and debt-cap conditions and negotiate strategic partnership agreements to protect annexation and revenue outcomes.
Justin Bennett, who said he formerly lived in Murphy and now lives in Plano, told commissioners the city has a limited window to respond to municipal utility district proposals in its extraterritorial jurisdiction and urged using that window to attach conditions and negotiate agreements.
Bennett stated, "Under Texas law, when a developer wants to create a MUD in our ETJ, the city has exactly 90 days to respond... 90 days. That's it." He recommended the commission use consent authority to require design standards that match Murphy's subdivision code, impose debt caps on MUD bonds "so we're not inheriting a financial nightmare," secure city inspection rights during construction and negotiate Strategic Partnership Agreements (SPAs) to lock in annexation timelines and service levels while retaining sales-tax capture from commercial areas during interim periods.
Bennett said the city should be proactive and at the table early rather than reacting after developers set terms; he emailed his fuller recommendations to staff for the record.
