Members of the Chisholm Trail Special Utility District board of directors voted July 18 to direct the water utility's legal staff to draft a contract to merge with the city of Georgetown's water utility and allow the city to take over all of the SUD's assets.

The Chisholm Trail SUD provides water to about 6,300 customers, about two-thirds of which are in or near the Georgetown extraterritorial jurisdiction, or ETJ. The district incorporates northwestern Williamson County as well as a portion of Burnet and Bell counties.

If approved by Georgetown City Council, the board would need to take a second vote for final approval of the merger agreement, which could take place Aug. 1.

Board President Pat Gower said the board would also consider a motion to dissolve the Chisholm Trail SUD if a merger agreement is approved.

"The district hasn't modified or changed and increased its proficiency to run as an integrated district as the base has grown. It's still being run by an excellent field staff, an excellent staff in accounting and customer service staff, but it has not had the operational management team in place to run what I think is a reliable, ongoing, good operation for its customers," Gower said at the meeting. "We either have to fix that, or we have to move it to somebody who can do that, and right now, I would say the board is in the position of moving toward somebody who can do that and not fixing it."

Gower said the board considered several options including merging the entire system and dissolving the Chisholm Trail SUD, transferring portions of the SUD into the city's service territory and continuing to operate as an independent utility.

The board had previously considered an agreement with the city that would have created a local government corporation, or LGC; however, the board voted 4-3 in April to deny the agreement.

"The city has in-city rates and out-of-city rates, and we would become part of that out-of-city customer base," Gower said. "They have about 3,000 out-of-city customers. We're bringing 7,000 more, and [Georgetown] would run the whole thing."

The two utilities have been discussing the proposed merger for more than 18 months.

The agreement was expected to help ensure water supplies for future growth and keep water rates stable, Georgetown Utility Manager Jim Briggs said in April.

In December 2011, City Council and the Chisholm Trail SUD board of directors each approved $100,000 to complete a feasibility study that considered consolidation.

"I think [this agreement] puts everybody in the same boat," said Mike Sweeney, Chisholm Trail SUD board member. "The regionalization will bring a lot of benefit to the city of Georgetown and the surrounding area. The final evaluation will be a couple years down the road when we look and see if we made the right decision or did we not, but I think we've set it on the right path."