It started with a phone call.
After enough confusing water bills, rising escrow statements, and neighbors texting screenshots back and forth, we finally did what a lot of small communities don’t get the chance to do: we picked up the phone and called a legal team that works on Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs) all over Texas.
We didn’t call to start a fight.
We called to ask a simple question:
“Can you help us understand what’s really going on with our MUD, our rates, and our taxes?”
What came out of that call led us straight into the world of Cresson Crossroads Municipal Utility District No. 2, the finances behind our neighborhood, and why the people who already live and do business here are carrying a heavier share of the cost right now.
This post is our attempt to share what we learned in plain language.
Calling the Legal Team
On the call, we walked the attorney through:
The sudden jump in water and sewer bills
The transfer of operations to Inframark
The $24M debt we’d seen referenced
The tax hearing documents
And our big question: “Is this normal? And is it fair?”
The attorney’s answer boiled down to this:
A lot of what we’re seeing is common in new, developer-driven MUDs.
That doesn’t mean it’s clear, resident-friendly, or well-communicated.
And residents are absolutely right to ask questions and show up at meetings.
From there, we started reading through the public documents, budgets, and tax hearing notices to piece together how our MUD works and where our money goes.
What Is the MUD, Really?
Our district is called Cresson Crossroads Municipal Utility District No. 2.
In simple terms, the MUD is the local government body that:
Owns and maintains the water and sewer systems
Takes on debt to pay for big infrastructure (plants, wells, pipes)
Sets a tax rate on properties inside the MUD to help pay that debt
Hires companies like Inframark to operate the system day-to-day
The MUD is run by a Board of Directors made up of local people (not full-time politicians). They meet, take votes, approve contracts, adopt budgets, and set the tax rate.
According to the official district directory, the Board for Cresson Crossroads MUD No. 2 meets at:
📍 Location: 9843 E. Bankhead Parkway, Aledo, Texas 76008
🕙 Schedule: Third Thursday of every month at 10:00 a.m.
These meetings are open to the public. Anyone can attend, listen, and—during public comment—speak.
Uncovering the Financials: Debt, Taxes, and Water
When a neighborhood like ours is first built, someone has to pay for:
Water plants
Wells
Storage tanks
Sewer lines
Big pipes running under roads
And other underground work we never see
In our case, that’s where the $24M in debt comes in.
Developers and the MUD work together so the MUD can issue or take on debt to build these systems. Over time, taxes and water/sewer bills from people inside the MUD help pay that back.
From the district’s own posting, the 2025 ad valorem tax rate is listed as $1.00 per $100 of taxable value for the district.
That rate helps cover:
Debt service (paying back what’s been borrowed)
Operations and maintenance costs
The hard part? If you don’t sit in those meetings or read the budget PDFs, it’s not obvious how that all connects to the bill in your mailbox.
Here’s the part many neighbors are feeling right now:
Even if the tax rate stays the same, your tax bill can still go up—sometimes a lot—because your property value has increased.
So you might see:
Tax rate: roughly flat
Appraised home value: way up
Result: you write a bigger check each year
When you layer that on top of:
Higher water and sewer bills
Rising insurance costs
And general cost-of-living bumps
…it can feel like everything is getting more expensive at once, with very little explanation.
That’s why putting the pieces together—tax rate, property values, water rates, and district debt—is so important.
Why Early Residents Pay More (For Now)
One thing the attorney and the public notices helped clarify:
We are in the expensive phase of the MUD’s life.
Right now:
The big price tag of that infrastructure is already on the books.
But not all of the future homes and businesses are here yet to share the cost.
So what happens?
The existing residents and commercial properties are carrying a heavier share of the load today.
Over time, as more rooftops and businesses are built and connected, the total cost per customer should go down, assuming the Board manages the debt and operations wisely.
That’s the theory.
But it requires two things:
Growth actually happening (more homes, more taps), and
Strong, transparent decisions by the MUD Board as new facilities come online.
“—‘There’s… Charges. Charges Everywhere.’”
Why Showing Up to MUD Meetings Matters
Here’s the bottom line:
The MUD isn’t some mysterious outside company.
It’s a local governmental body that’s required to meet in public, post notices, and keep minutes.
If we want:
Clearer explanations of our bills
A better understanding of the $24M debt
A plan for how rates might ease as new facilities come online
And a say in future decisions
…we have to start showing up.
🗓 Next Regular MUD Board Meeting
According to the official district directory:
📍 Cresson Crossroads MUD No. 2 Board of Directors Meeting
Location: 9843 E. Bankhead Parkway, Aledo, TX 76008
Schedule: Third Thursday of every month at 10:00 a.m.
(Always check the posted agenda online before you go, in case of any special changes.)
Even if you just sit quietly in the back and listen the first time, your presence matters. Seeing actual residents in the room changes the dynamic. It reminds everyone at the table that these numbers aren’t just lines in a spreadsheet—they’re grocery budgets, mortgage payments, and real families’ lives.
“Me showing up to the MUD meeting for the first time, just trying to learn.”
Where We Go From Here
At The Cresson Roll, our goal isn’t to attack, accuse, or inflame.
Our goal is to:
Explain what’s happening in plain language
Help neighbors understand who the MUD is
Connect the dots between debt, taxes, water rates, and growth
Encourage more residents to take a seat in the room where decisions are made
If you have questions you’d like us to explore in future posts—about the MUD, the City, the HOA, or anything in between—send them our way.
We’re not breaking news.
We’re rolling it your way.
— The Cresson Roll Team