The Falls at Imperial Oaks is one community with one name and two municipal utility districts. For tax year 2026, Montgomery County MUD 115 adopted a rate of $0.91 per $100 of value, and Montgomery County MUD 127 adopted $1.35, according to the Montgomery County Tax Office's adopted-rate history. Neither district changed its rate from 2025.
On a home with $450,000 of taxable value, that gap comes to about $1,980 a year. MUD 115 would bill roughly $4,095 and MUD 127 roughly $6,075. If both rates stayed where they are, the difference over ten years would approach $20,000. That is enough to change which of two similar listings is the better buy.
The fiscal-year 2026 audits from both districts show where the gap comes from. MUD 127 has a smaller taxable base and a younger debt load that runs further into the future. It also holds a larger share of its voter-approved bond authority that it has not yet issued. Buying on one side of the line or the other means taking on a different district balance sheet.
A disclosure before the numbers: Keith Rodgers serves as Secretary and Records Management Officer on the board of MUD 115. His term runs through May 2028.
The Section Name Will Not Settle It
You can't tell which district a house is in from the community name. Neighborhood tax tables for The Falls list both MUD 115 and MUD 127 and note that the tax type varies by property. Some listing data also still shows MUD 115 at 0.92, which was its 2024 rate.
The section number doesn't settle it either. A July 2020 MUD 115 construction-fund record lists water, sewer and drainage work for Falls at Imperial Oaks Sections 19 and 20, plus clearing for Sections 20 and 22. A September 2020 MUD 127 bond-application summary lists developer utility work for Falls Sections 16 and 17, 20, 21 and 22, along with water, sewer, drainage and paving for Birnham Woods Drive. Sections 20 and 22 appear in both records. Those are project lists, and they don't define parcel boundaries. MUD 115 describes itself as about 686 acres north of Rayford Road along Northridge Forest Drive and Birnham Woods Drive. Birnham Woods Drive also shows up in MUD 127's project list.
So you have to check by address. Three public tools do the job:
- Montgomery Central Appraisal District property search looks up a parcel by address and returns its tax-office ID. MCAD's taxing-unit directory lists MUD 127 with Equi-Tax as its collector.
- Equi-Tax's MUD 127 page posts the 2026 rate and its split. Equi-Tax collects taxes for both districts.
- The TCEQ Water Districts Map Viewer draws the district boundaries. TCEQ cautions that its lines are approximate and are not a survey.
Each district also files a Notice to Purchasers. MUD 127's notice describes the district's purpose as water, sewer, drainage, flood control, and parks and recreation facilities.
Where the 44 Cents Comes From
Each MUD rate has two parts. Maintenance and operations pays to run the water and sewer system. The debt service portion repays the bonds that built it.
| Tax year 2026, per $100 | MUD 115 | MUD 127 | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintenance & operations | $0.4200 | $0.5550 | $0.1350 |
| Debt service | $0.4900 | $0.7950 | $0.3050 |
| Total adopted rate | $0.9100 | $1.3500 | $0.4400 |
Debt service makes up about 31 cents of the 44-cent gap. MUD 127's debt rate is more than 60% higher than MUD 115's, so the explanation sits mostly in the bond schedules.
A Smaller Base Carrying a Younger Debt
MUD 115 owes more in total and still charges the lower rate. The MUD 115 audit and the MUD 127 audit explain why.
| Audit figure, fiscal year ended May 31, 2026 | MUD 115 | MUD 127 |
|---|---|---|
| District created | March 22, 2006 | August 22, 2008 |
| Bond principal outstanding | $40,240,000 | $32,615,000 |
| Adjusted taxable value, 2025 tax year | $682,516,304 | $291,834,475 |
| Debt service levy, 2025 tax year | $3,344,330 | $2,320,084 |
| Average annual debt service, remaining term | $2,615,646 | $1,944,230 |
| Final maturities fall in | fiscal 2042–2046 | fiscal 2047–2051 |
MUD 127 has about 43% of MUD 115's taxable value, but its annual debt payment is about 74% of MUD 115's. Measured against its tax base, MUD 127 owes almost twice as much: outstanding principal equals about 11% of its taxable value, compared with about 6% for MUD 115. Each dollar of debt in MUD 127 is spread over fewer homes, so each home pays more of it.
The repayment schedules show that MUD 127 is at an earlier stage. In MUD 115's fiscal 2027 payment, principal is $2,055,000 and interest is $1,286,426, so the district is mostly paying down its balance. In MUD 127's fiscal 2027 payment, principal is $925,000 and interest is $1,125,266, so most of the payment still goes to interest. MUD 115's yearly principal payments shrink to $4,965,000 for the entire 2042–2046 period. MUD 127's payments keep growing, ending with $8,120,000 of principal due in 2047 through 2051. Its debt is weighted toward the later years, and the schedule runs about five years past MUD 115's.
MUD 115 has also issued refunding bonds three times, in Series 2016A, 2020 and 2021. Refunding replaces older debt with new bonds, usually at better terms. MUD 127's audit lists bond series issued from 2016 through 2025, and none of them is a refunding series.
The Authorization Still on the Shelf
Each district's audit reports bonds that voters authorized but the district has not yet issued. Neither audit gives a date for a next sale. The amount left over still shows how much of each district's financing may be ahead.
- MUD 127 had $85,665,000 of unissued tax and revenue bond authority as of May 31, 2026, about 70% of the $122 million voters approved. It also had all $8 million of its park bond authority unissued, according to its FY2026 audit. Its audit says the district expects to reimburse its developer $44,716 from future bond proceeds. Its most recent sale was $4,985,000 of Unlimited Tax Bonds, Series 2025.
- MUD 115 had $67,697,000 unissued out of $130,672,000 authorized, about 52%, according to its FY2026 audit. Its most recent new-money issue was $7,040,000 of Unlimited Tax Bonds, Series 2023. The district states that it has no pending bond election.
Neither district appears on Montgomery County's list of entities holding elections on November 3, 2026.
Here is how that matters for a buyer. A new bond sale adds to the debt that the district's taxable value has to cover. In MUD 127, that value is currently about $292 million. Whether a sale raises the rate depends on how much that value grows by the time the bonds are sold, and neither audit forecasts it. Both districts held their 2026 rates flat, and both had debt service funds on hand at fiscal year-end: $4,680,685 in MUD 115 and $3,265,197 in MUD 127.
Putting It Into an Offer
The rate gap has a dollar cost, and two listings in The Falls may carry different costs. Before comparing them on price per square foot, a buyer can line up a few things:
- Confirm each address's district in the MCAD property search, then check it against the TCEQ map.
- Calculate the MUD line for each home at its actual taxable value using the 2026 rates, $0.91 or $1.35 per $100.
- Read each district's Notice to Purchasers and its most recent audit for outstanding debt and unissued authority.
- Run the annual difference through the monthly payment, because a lender's escrow estimate uses the rate on the specific property.
All of this is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm the figures for your own home with the tax office, your lender and your title company before you rely on them.
FAQ
Did either Falls at Imperial Oaks MUD raise its rate for 2026? No. MUD 115 adopted $0.91 and MUD 127 adopted $1.35 for tax year 2026, and both match their 2025 rates.
Is there a MUD bond vote on the November 2026 ballot? Neither district appears on the county's notice list for the November 3, 2026 election. MUD 115's next directors election is scheduled for May 6, 2028.
Can I tell the district from the section number? Not reliably. Project records from 2020 tie work in Falls Sections 20 and 22 to both districts, so check the specific address.
Does the higher rate mean MUD 127 spends more? Part of the gap is operating cost: MUD 127's maintenance and operations rate is 13.5 cents higher. Most of the gap comes from debt service on a smaller taxable base.
If you're comparing homes in The Falls at Imperial Oaks and want help checking district lines, debt schedules and the true monthly cost of each home before you make an offer, Keith Rodgers can go through the numbers with you. Let's Connect.
