A judge in Texas’s 333rd district court signed off on a finding this week siding with the plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleging that the Montrose Management District has been illegally levying taxes within its boundaries (shaded in blue above). Per state law the district only needed 25 signatures from would-be affected property owners to form in 2011; the case went to court back in 2012 after around 988 other property owners within those boundaries signed petitions to shut the district down.
The court’s freshly filed judgement document says that the formation of the district required the initial sign-on of 25 property owners who would be subject to the taxation by the new district; the court ruled that although the district did have 26 signatures, 3 of those folks weren’t actually taxed for all of the years the district has been in operation — dropping the number of valid signatures down to 23, and rendering the basis for the district’s authority moot. The judge also says the district must now pay back the money collected so far — around $6.59 million.
- Texas Special District Local Laws Code § 3878 [Texas Constitution and Statutes]
- Previously on Swamplot:Â The New Free Bike Racks Popping Up in Montrose;Â Montrose District Battle Heads to Court;Â Trying to Kill the Montrose Management District
Map and photo: Montrose Management District
The owner of a 6-unit apartment complex in Montrose has filed suit against the Montrose Management District, hoping a court decision will help shut down the taxing entity. A petition calling for the dissolution of the district was delivered to the organization’s managers last September. It contained 988 signatures — accounting for more than the required 75 percent of the district’s assessed property values, according to district opponents. But the district says the 75 percent threshold hasn’t been met, because its count 
