Georgetown Borrows $46 Million From the State for Water. Ratepayers Will Repay It.
Georgetown's council approved $29 million and $17 million in state water bonds, plus two economic development deals known only by code names.
Georgetown's City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 13, approved $46 million in new water debt, sold to the state. The figures and quotes here come from the city's official meeting video and its closed-caption transcript, which the city's video provider notes is uncorrected. The bond amounts and series match the meeting agenda, as listed in the video index and in an agenda preview published by Austin Metroplex News, which said the Texas Water Development Board was designated to buy the bonds. The interest rates and savings figures come only from Wallace's remarks in the transcript. Official minutes had not been posted.
Two bond sales
Chief Financial Officer Lee Wallace said the bonds pay for projects under the Georgetown Regional Water Initiative, which brings in and moves new water supplies. Both series go to the Texas Water Development Board through its SWIFT program.
Series 2026B, $29 million: the low-interest portion, at a true interest cost of 4.29 percent. Wallace said the city got 4.98 percent on an open-market water bond sale two weeks earlier, so the state rate saves about $3.5 million over the life of the bonds.
Series 2026C, $17 million: the deferred portion, at 3.75 percent. Principal and interest payments are put off for five years, through 2031. Wallace said that allows the city to phase in "the rate increases that are needed to recover the costs for this debt service" more gradually.
Wallace said the bonds "will be repaid with the utility rates that were already adopted as part of the fiscal year 2027 budget." In other words, water customers will pay this debt.
A lower rate is good for ratepayers, and $3.5 million in savings is real. But deferring payments does not make debt go away. It moves the bill to 2031 and later. Residents should watch for the rate increases that Wallace said are needed.
Deals with code names
Coming out of executive session, the council unanimously authorized the city manager to negotiate and sign economic development performance agreements with "Project Neptune" and "Project Isosceles." Neither company was named in public. Council members joked about the code names.
Confidentiality during negotiations is common. Still, taxpayers should learn who the companies are and what incentives they get before any money changes hands.
The council also approved, on first reading, Reinvestment Zone No. 2026-003, covering about 19.675 acres for Crosspoint Business Park Building No. 1, according to the transcript. Staff said it is "the first step in the tax abatement process," not an abatement itself. No one spoke at the hearing.
A neighbor speaks
On first reading, the council unanimously approved a special use permit for ProGlass, an auto repair shop at 2303 S. Austin Ave. that staff said has operated there for at least 20 years. Repairs must stay inside the building, and pavement poured on residentially zoned land must be removed. Alfred Flores, who said he and his wife have lived on nearby Highland Drive for 40 years, asked about large vehicles and emergency access on 24th Street.
Hero photo: Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
