Munoz files bill to dissolve El Milagro Management District

State Representative Sergio Muñoz, Jr. (D-Mission) filed legislation that would dissolve the El Milagro Municipal Management District (MMD), a master planned community currently evolving in south Mission.

 

 

The large scale improvement project, headed up by Laredo-based real estate development firm Killam Development, could be impacted by the proposed House Bill 5660 which would require the district to wrap up its operations and shed debt within 60 days of the bill becoming law. On Monday, the bill was referred to the House’s Intergovernmental Affairs committee.

 

The MMD designation allowed Killam Development to take on $167.5 million in debt in order to install water, sewer, drainage and road improvements in an undeveloped area of Mission: that debt will be passed on to those who choose to purchase property within the district’s geographic lines, as Killam Development will seek reimbursement for the project’s infrastructure costs. The debt payments would occur over a 40-year period.

 

Munoz said he filed the bill after constituents started asking questions about the MMD.

 

“I heard concerns about this district undertaking debt and the way the debt was created, and I don’t think the proper notice was given to some of the surrounding region where it may negatively impact that area,” Munoz said.

 

Munoz said last year’s proposition election which resulted in a single voter triggering $167.5 million in debt was alarming.

 

“The ability of one voter to authorize the district to incur such a large amount of debt, which at the end of the day will be passed on to the people who live there, that’s the whole point of the district,” Munoz said. “It was created for no other reason than to do this. I found out about it when a constituent asked about the one vote election and asked how that was allowed.”

 

On November 5 of 2024, four propositions were listed on the election ballots in four eligible precincts in southwest Hidalgo County by El Milagro MMD, seeking approval to assume $167,465,166 million in bonds to build roads, water lines, sewer, and drainage in the south Mission area.

 

While at least 12 people voted in the presidential election and local races in precinct 63, only one person voted in favor of the debt authorization. No votes on the propositions were cast in the other three eligible precincts, which included 82, 93, and 203.

 

Munoz said he did not consult with the city of Mission or anyone else before filing the bill to dissolve the MMD.

 

The Mission city council unanimously approved the district’s creation on December 13, 2021, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) provided an order in June of 2024 to establish the El Milagro MMD. Texas law dictates that a MMD can’t include a city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction or land within its city limits without that city’s approval.

 

 

“I haven’t spoken to anyone from city or the developer and my concern is how much of an effect this will have on the surrounding area in the future,” Muñoz said. “And we’ve had no one trying to contact us about the legal notice we published or the bill we filed.

 

“That tells me that the people who represent this district and the registered lobbyists they employ don’t care, they don’t think this is important, or they don’t think they need to contact us,” Munoz said. “Or they assume they’re going to use their lobbyists and their influence to try and kill the bill.

 

“Regardless of whether we agree on this, I expect some sort of discussion,” Munoz added.

 

Mission Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza was in Houston on Thursday for a conference, and she was brief but clear with her response to Munoz’s allegation.

 

“I am not trying to kill this bill,” Garza said. “And I’ve had no conversations with anyone to kill this bill.”

 

Mission city manager Mike Perez pointed out that the MMD is a separate political subdivision.

 

“It would be like us getting involved with the school district, irrigation district, and we do not do that,” Perez said. “We are not trying to kill this bill.”

 

State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa said he had not yet read Munoz’s bill, so he did not feel qualified to comment on it. An identical companion bill has not yet been filed in the Texas Senate and legislation has to survive both chambers in order to be routed to the governor’s desk for potential signature.

 

“It is somewhat concerning when one vote can incur this type of debt, and it be paid by those who choose to buy homes there,” Hinojosa said. “But I haven’t studied it yet, so that’s all I’ll say for now.”

 

Muñoz is undeterred.

 

“We can get a senate sponsor to carry it, and we will do our best,” Muñoz said. “We will also look at other options to bring accountability to this issue.”

 

Munoz said alternatives include the examination of the processes in place at TCEQ, which provided the mechanism for the MMD to be formed.

 

“We have other avenues with the state agencies that have purview over this process, and we will bring those concerns forward to the agencies for corrective action,” Munoz said.

 

“If this MMD is beneficial, why doesn’t anyone reach out to our office to discuss it?” Munoz asked. “If it was me, I would want to tell you how good this district is for the area, and the fact that they haven’t made contact tells me there is something else going on.”