Voters in Georgetown will decide in May if they want the city to sell a portion of its public water system to a new, private water provider.
City leaders like Georgetown Mayor Pro Tem Kevin Pitts want to sell the parts of the system that extend into neighboring towns. Pitts said doing that would allow the Georgetown system to better plan for future growth and manage rising costs.
"The proposed sale of water service territory outside of our city limits will reduce our long-term water needs by 60%," Pitts said at a press conference on Wednesday.
About 40% of Georgetown's water utility customers currently live outside the city — a result of the city's decision to acquire the Chisolm Trail Special Utility District in 2014. These areas are expected to rapidly develop in the coming years, and although Georgetown cannot manage that growth, it must legally provide water to residents and businesses that request service.
By selling these portions of its water service area and significantly reducing its water and infrastructure needs, city leaders said the utility can save hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming decades, stabilizing rates for Georgetown residents and businesses.
"Any cost to the water utility, whether it be new water or infrastructure, no matter where it is, is going to be borne by the rate payers of the water utility," Pitts said. "So if citizens say we can sell this through the election ... basically, we'll be back to serving primarily the citizens of Georgetown."
The city has selected National Utility Infrastructure as its "preferred buyer" of the other water service area it plans to put up for sale.
Georgetown City Manager David Morgan said NUI was the city's top choice because any new owner is just getting the infrastructure, like pipes. Not the water.
"So part of our evaluation was looking for a company that had great experience, a track record and a plan to acquire additional water or water resources that they could be able to supply current customers as well as future customers," said Morgan.
He said the city is also prepared to provide NUI water for up to 10 years while the company works to acquire its own.
"That provides a smooth transition for existing customers that live in the areas where the transfer will occur," Morgan said.
The city needs at least $20 million from the sale to pay off existing debt related to water infrastructure projects, but expects it will receive about $60 million.
"Those dollars will first go to pay off debt that we've incurred in the area in which we're selling," he said. "There will be dollars above and beyond that we anticipate will stay in the water utility and actually help ease rate increases moving forward."
If the sale is approved by voters in May, then the city would need additional approval from the Texas Public Utility Commission. That process, city leaders said, could take up to two years.
Georgetown voters can visit the city's website to learn more about the upcoming election for the proposed NUI sale.
