"The current rate of the District property tax is $0.06814 on each $100 of assessed valuation." That sentence appears on the Notice to Purchaser from Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1, and the form is labeled effective October 1, 2026.
The rate the district actually adopted for the 2026 tax year is $0.07803. Its board set that rate on September 16, 2026, and ratified it on September 23. So a buyer signing a contract in Trophy Club this month may receive a district notice that is one rate behind. And the gap between the two numbers comes almost entirely from one source: the fire department.
Most buyers comparing Trophy Club with other north Denton County towns look at the Town's rate of $0.412864 per $100 and stop there. That leaves out how Trophy Club pays for fire protection. The money runs through a second government, which is now suing the first one.
What the Second Line on the Bill Pays For
The MUD's own notice states its purpose. It exists "to provide water and sanitary sewer facilities and services and fire-fighting facilities and activities." The district sits inside the Town of Trophy Club and also reaches partly into the Town of Westlake. Property inside both Trophy Club and the MUD is taxed by both.
The district's financial transparency page breaks its rate into three parts. The fire piece is the one that matters.
| Tax year | Fire M&O rate | District M&O rate | Debt service rate | Total MUD rate | Fire tax revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $0.05136 | $0.00315 | $0.00799 | $0.06250 | $1,398,028 |
| 2025 | $0.05712 | $0.00287 | $0.00814 | $0.06814 | $2,354,855 |
| 2026 | $0.06363 | $0.00637 | $0.00803 | $0.07803 | $2,680,682 |
For 2026, the fire component makes up about 81.5% of the district's total rate. Between 2025 and 2026, the total rate rose by $0.00989, and fire accounts for about two-thirds of that increase. Measured from 2024, fire accounts for about 79% of the increase. The debt service line, which pays for the water, sewer and drainage bonds, barely moved over those three years.
Why Fire Revenue Jumped in a Single Year
Fire tax revenue climbed from about $1.4 million in tax year 2024 to about $2.35 million in 2025, roughly a 68% jump. The fire rate rose only about 11% over the same period. Most of that growth came from a bigger tax base.
The bigger base was The Highlands at Trophy Club. Citizen Portal reported that the MUD's boundary expansion took effect January 1, 2025, after Denton County recorded the request on December 20, 2024. It also reported that, as of March 2025, the Town and the MUD had not formally transferred water, sewer or fire operations.
Until then, homes in The Highlands paid for emergency services through a separate annual assessment under Public Improvement District No. 1. On September 22, 2025, the Town Council repealed that assessment. According to Citizen Portal's account of the meeting, PID residents are now billed for fire and emergency services "the same way as other Trophy Club residents through the MUD's tax/assessment process." At the same meeting, the council approved an updated PID service and assessment plan, Ordinance 2025-13, reflecting a 2025 bond refinancing. Staff said the refinancing saved about $4 million over the life of the debt and shortened its term by a year.
Today, then, one fire rate applies across the whole district. Homes in The Highlands still carry their fixed PID installment for neighborhood infrastructure. Their emergency-services charge now sits on the same MUD line as every other home in the district.
The Math on an Average Trophy Club Homestead
The Town's October 26, 2026 council agenda includes a budget and taxpayer impact statement. It puts the average homestead value at $714,324 and the Town's share of that home's FY2027 tax bill at $2,814.20.
Apply the MUD's 2026 rate to that same $714,324 value, at the full rate and before any exemptions the district may grant:
- Total MUD line: about $557
- Fire component alone: about $455
- Water, sewer and debt service combined: about $103
So the fire department costs that average homestead roughly one-sixth of what the entire Town government costs it. And the fire department is the piece that grew fastest. The MUD's fire fund is $2,810,505 for FY2027, up from $2,369,855 in FY2026, an increase of about 18.6%. Meanwhile, the Town's statement estimates its own share for that average home would have been $2,817.80 at the no-new-revenue rate. That is slightly more than the adopted figure, which means the Town's portion of the bill was essentially flat this year.
A buyer who checks only the Town's rate sees a flat year. The year-over-year movement is on the other line.
Two Governments, One Fire Department
The district's records describe an interlocal agreement for administration of fire protection services, with the MUD levying the tax that funds the department. Over 2026, that arrangement has been the subject of repeated discussion between the two boards.
At a February 13, 2026 joint work session, the MUD board and a Town subcommittee discussed the future of fire and EMS. According to the district's minutes, the district preferred either keeping the current structure or bringing EMS under district control. Town representatives, including Councilmember Rowe, supported keeping public safety under the Town and continuing the agreement with revisions. The Town also proposed that the district collect its maximum tax rate and remit those funds for capital and equipment planning. It also asked for reserve transfers to start a pilot program of six-person shifts. The board directed its attorney to work with the Town attorney on changes to the agreement. At the same meeting, it approved a mutual termination of the wholesale water and wastewater contracts between the two governments.
The fall calendar of votes and agenda items runs like this:
- September 16, 2026. By a 4 to 1 vote, the MUD board adopted its FY2027 budget "with the exception of the fire budget." It set the $0.07803 rate in the same meeting.
- September 23, 2026. The board unanimously approved the fire services portion, rescinded the earlier resolution and adopted a replacement budget, Resolution No. 2026-0923A. The minutes for that meeting also list a pending declaratory action: Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Town of Trophy Club, with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as a necessary party, Cause No. D-1-GN-26-008831 in the 459th District Court of Travis County.
- October 14, 2026. The district's agenda included an item on "financial transparency on the FY 2027 Trophy Club Fire Department budget and its impact on the District's 2026 tax rate," including the fire component's share of the change since 2025 and 2024, along with direction to staff about publishing a public explainer.
- October 26, 2026. The Town Council's agenda listed the same case for consultation with the Town Attorney in executive session.
For a buyer, the practical point is the timing. The line on the tax bill that has grown fastest over the past two years is funded by one government and tied to a department whose future arrangement the two boards have been debating all year, while they also face each other in court.
What to Pull Before Writing an Offer
For a buyer comparing Trophy Club with nearby towns, these are the documents that carry the current numbers:
- TCMUD's financial transparency page, which lists the three-year rate and revenue history by component.
- The September 16 and September 23, 2026 MUD minutes, which record the adopted 2026 rate. Compare them with any Notice to Purchaser form in your contract packet.
- The Town's budget page, which links the FY2027 budget the council adopted on September 14, 2026.
- For homes in The Highlands, the current PID service and assessment plan, which sets the fixed installment that still appears alongside the MUD line.
The notice itself tells purchasers to contact the district about current or proposed changes, because the board sets rates every year. This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Please confirm the figures for any specific property with the taxing entities and the right professional.
Quick Answers
Does The Highlands at Trophy Club still pay a separate emergency-services assessment? No. The Town Council repealed it on September 22, 2025, and fire and emergency services for those homes are now billed through the MUD.
Is every Trophy Club home inside the MUD? The district's notice says it lies within Trophy Club's town limits and partly within Westlake. Before a closing, confirm whether a specific parcel is in the district with TCMUD directly.
Where does the lawsuit stand? The case is pending in the 459th District Court of Travis County, and both the MUD board and the Town Council have listed it for executive session this fall.
For more on everyday life in town, see our Trophy Club neighborhood guide and our look at how Trophy Club is rewriting its weekday rhythm.
If you are weighing a home in Trophy Club against one in Argyle or Bartonville, the North Texas Team can lay the full tax stack for each address side by side, including the MUD line, before you write an offer. Schedule a Concierge Consultation, and we will walk through those numbers with you.
