State hearing for service territory consolidation postponed
The Texas Public Utility Commission postponed a court hearing Oct. 27 regarding the citys consolidation agreement with the Chisholm Trail Special Utility District to determine policies and procedures for the transfer of the SUDs service area, also known as the certificate of convenience and necessity or CCN, to the city.
A new date for the hearing has not been set, said Jim Briggs, Georgetowns general manager of utilities.
We dont know when the hearing will be because the judge has got to [determine the procedure] before he sets the hearing, he said.
A transfer agreement between the two entities was completed Sept. 12, which transfers the liabilities and assets of the district as well as its employees to the city.
The transfer will add 7,633 accounts to the citys approximately 22,500 water utility customers. Chisholm Trail SUD provides water to an approximately 377-square-mile service territory that includes portions of Georgetowns extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ, and extends northwest into Bell and Burnet counties.
Chisholm Trail SUD customers are now city of Georgetown water utility customers and will be charged the out-of-city monthly rate of $27.50 for standard residential customers. The new customers will also pay a transition fee of $4.75 to cover ongoing expenses of the consolidation. The fee will be removed once the transition is complete, according to a city news release.
October was the first month Georgetowns new customers received their bills, according to the release. The Chisholm Trail SUDs office at 851 FM 970 in Florence remains open for customers to make payments and submit utility service requests. Customers may also continue to pay their bills through the district until the transition is complete.
Chisholm Trail SUDs board of directors will continue to provide policy direction for the district and has the responsibility to provide water to its service area. The board will retain $500,000 to help cover board operational expenses and liabilities.
The [CCN transfer] is the first step in dissolving the [Chisholm Trail SUD] board, Briggs said. We wont know how long that will take until we get to the hearing.
The city has also expanded its Georgetown Utility Systems advisory board to include two additional positions to be filled by out-of-city customers.
The two entities have been in discussions about a possible merger for about 3 1/2 years. The city began considering the issue in summer 2011 after it was approached by a number of Chisholm Trail SUD customers, including residents in Shady Oaks, Cimarron Hills, North Lake, Gabriels Overlook and several other neighborhoods in the citys ETJ, who requested to be transferred into the citys water service area.
In January 2012 the two entities began a six-month feasibility study to determine how to move forward with a possible consolidation, and in late 2013 the Chisholm Trail board and City Council approved the consolidation agreement.
The transfer must still be approved by the PUC.
