Frequently Asked Questions
A Municipal Utility District (MUD) is a local governmental entity organized for the purpose of providing safe drinking water and sanitary sewer service to the areas within its boundaries. Additionally, a MUD can exercise other typical governmental powers, including, but not limited to, drainage relief within its boundaries, the levy and collection of ad valorem taxes, issuing bonds with voter authorization, charge for authorized services, adopt and enforce rules and regulations to accomplish the purposes for which the MUD was created, develop and maintain certain public improvements such as parks and jogging trails, provide solid waste management services, and provide police protection services. However, not all MUDs provide all of these services. While the powers of a MUD may seem very broad, MUDs are one of the most highly regulated and controlled governmental entities in the State of Texas. The powers of a MUD are limited to those expressly provided for in the Texas Water Code and the Texas Constitution and there is significant oversight provided by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
Appraisals from the Tax Assessor/Collector can be found on their website.
A general depiction of the allocation of MUD tax revenue can be found on the flyer distributed to residents and found following the View Infographic button below.
For the MUD’s General Fund, the budget shows the more specific breakdown of the revenue and expenses for the MUD fiscal year. The most recently approved MUD budget can be found on the Resources Page.
For the MUD’s Debt Service Fund, the MUD’s Financial Advisor determines the total amount of the debt service payment the MUD will need to pay for the year. The MUD will then determine the amount of the debt service tax rate that will need to be assessed to satisfy that year’s debt service payment.
Go to the Helpful Links Page and click on the service providers.
Billing questions can be answered by the City of Celina’s Utility Billing Office. You may call their customer service desk at 972-382-3345.
You can report issues with service on the City of Celina’s Citizen Portal.
You are welcome to attend the monthly meetings of the Board of Directors. All meetings are open to the public according to Texas law. These meetings are normally held on the 4th Monday of the month at 6 PM at either the Light Farms Community Center or Celina Police Headquarters.
Qualified registered voters are eligible to vote in US, Texas, Collin County, and the independent school district elections. Additionally, all residents who are qualified registered voters can also vote in Collin County MUD #1 elections. More information can be found on the Collin County Elections page.
The MUD’s process for developing the budget for the upcoming fiscal year is intensive, but to simplify it:
- Attention is paid to administrative expenses in the previous year to project administrative expenses to the coming year
- For operational expenses, the MUD looks at the previous year’s costs but also looks at what projects are anticipated in the coming year: What replacement landscaping will be needed (dead trees, bushes, etc)? What condition are the drainage ponds in? What are the potential costs for the irrigation system and repair of roads? What are the costs for public safety going to be? What do the MUD’s reserves look like and what projects are anticipated in a 5-year plan?
Currently, the MUD has $168,515,000 in outstanding principal debt ($54,165,000 from utility bonds and $114,350,000 from road bonds)*
*The amounts reflected above do not include interest
Please refer to the District’s Contact Us page if you require further assistance. District representatives will respond shortly.
To set up new water service with Collin County MUD 1, fill out the Customer Service Application on the City of Celina website.