Lago Vista's Tessera property owners still owe $53.4 million

A 40-foot lot in Phase 2 of one zone, Improvement Area #3, owes $4,711.43 in 2027.^1,4 Its schedule totals $133,966.96 through 2054.¹

Tessera's 2024 bonds "shall never be payable from ad valorem taxes or any other funds or revenues of the City," so city property taxes do not repay them.⁵

The draft agreement for a second district, Turnback Ranch, let the city issue up to $40,000,000 in bonds for it.⁶ We searched council agendas, packets, and minutes from September 2023 through October 2026.⁷ We found no record that the city has issued Turnback Ranch PID bonds, levied assessments, or adopted an assessment roll.^7,8 On July 2, 2026, the council voted 6-0 to give the developer more time under a dissolution agreement, which lets the city end the district if no bonds or assessments come first.^6,7

What is a PID?

A public improvement district (PID) lets a city pay for streets, water lines, and parks that give one area a special benefit. The city charges each lot a share of the cost, called an assessment, and the assessment is a lien, which is a legal claim on the property.⁹ Owners pay in yearly installments, billed "in the same manner and at the same time as ad valorem taxes," which are property taxes. The city issues bonds, which are loans from investors, and the assessments repay them.⁴

In Tessera, assessments also repay the developer for some costs it paid up front.¹ A seller must also give a buyer a written notice of the assessment before the sales contract is signed. The state's notice form says the exact amount "may be obtained from" the city, and the seller or the city "may provide" the amount.¹⁰

What have we reported before?

Our story on planned development districts covered both PIDs and the July 2, 2026, Turnback extension.⁷ It reported Turnback's original Sept. 28, 2026, dissolution date and the Area #3 share owed on one Tessera lot type.^1,6 Our Shoreline Ranch story reported a September 2023 draft analysis of $47,147 to $72,635 in assessments per Turnback home.¹¹ Our Firefly Cove story covered a municipal utility district (MUD) and the council's Oct. 2, 2025, talk about PID notices.¹²

How did Tessera's PID start?

The council created the Tessera PID by resolution on Aug. 16, 2012.¹ On Nov. 1, 2012, the council issued $19,890,000 in bonds for the district's Major Improvement Area. That area covers shared works that serve "all of the property within the District."⁴ Improvement Area #2 was added in 2017.¹

After a July 23, 2020, hearing, the council approved a supplemental assessment for added shared works that benefit the whole district.^1,4 On Aug. 19, 2020, the city issued two new Major Improvement Area bond series, one of them labeled "Revenue and Refunding" bonds.⁴ Improvement Area #3 followed in 2024.¹ The developer is Hines Lake Travis Land II Limited Partnership.¹²

On Jan. 4, 2024, one motion approved $13,190,000 in bonds for Improvement Area #3 and the ordinance that set its assessments.^5,13 Council Member Paul Prince moved, Council Member Paul Roberts seconded, and the vote was unanimous. Mayor Kevin Sullivan and Council Members Shane Saum, Roberts, Stephanie Smith, Prince, and Rob Durbin were present, and Mayor Pro Tem Chelaine Marion was absent.¹³ The bonds carry interest rates from 4.750% to 6.000%.⁵

What about the park money?

An April 17, 2025, agenda report by Prince said Resolution 17-1703 states "the developer expended $1.7 million of bond proceeds to construct park improvements." The same report said it "appears" the conveyance of that parkland "has not occurred."¹⁴

Did Tessera buyers know what they would owe?

The council took up the 2025 plan update on Aug. 21, 2025, at a regular meeting. Mayor Kevin Sullivan moved to approve it with "a new Exhibit B as part of the notices provided to purchasers," and Council Member Adam Benefield seconded. The motion also removed two items, called A and C, from the exhibit's list.¹⁵ On the video, Sullivan described item A as starting with "approximately 6,840 linear feet" and item C as starting with "the concrete ADA ramp," a ramp built for disability access under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).¹⁶

A speaker told the council that items A and C "technically have not been dedicated to the city yet." Of the items left on the list, the same speaker said, "You already own these things, so it doesn't change the financing."¹⁶ Mayor Pro Tem Rob Durbin cast the only no vote, saying he did not want the items "to fall through the cracks."^15,16 The motion passed 6-1, with Sullivan, Saum, Council Member Norma Owen, Roberts, Prince, and Benefield voting yes.¹⁵

The recorded ordinance approves the update with both an Exhibit A and an Exhibit B. Exhibit B, titled "Authorized Improvements," lists park facilities the city owns that were built "with PID Bond proceeds." It names five items, starting with about 2.18 acres of park area "except for the Trail Facilities." The others are a 25-space parking lot, a pavilion with restrooms, showers, and a swimming pool.¹⁷

On Sept. 18, 2025, City Attorney Brad Bullock reported that resolutions were being prepared to dedicate, or give to the city, the ramp and the trails. The item was to return on Oct. 2.¹⁸

Benefield put the question on the council's Oct. 2, 2025, work session agenda. His memo said builders were "filing disclosure forms without dollar amounts." It said one homeowner "discovered his PID assessment was $4,700 annually after closing." It also said some lot types carry total obligations of "$165,000+ over 30 years."¹⁹

One option in the memo was a "No New PID" policy. The memo is one council member's account, not a city finding.¹⁹ At the meeting, Benefield said several builders were "not disclosing the actual dollar amount."²⁰ A member of the public also spoke on the item.¹²

Sullivan asked Benefield whether he wanted to "work with Mr. Bullock to determine what's legal" and bring the answer back to the council.²⁰ State law lets a buyer sue for damages if a sale skips the notice.¹⁰ A speaker said of that suit that "the city has no role in that."²⁰ The minutes record no vote on the item.¹²

The same night, the council took no action on a resolution accepting Tessera parkland from the developer, including a correction deed for the pool property dedication.¹²

On Nov. 6, 2025, the council took up the same parkland dedication again, now as Resolution 25-2164, including the pool correction deed and the ADA ramp. Council Member Paul Roberts moved to table it, Owen seconded, and the motion passed 4-1, with Sullivan voting no.²¹

On Aug. 6, 2026, the council took up the 2026 plan at a regular meeting in the council chambers.³ A representative of P3Works, the district's administrator, presented the plan.^3,4 Mayor Pro Tem Norma Owen moved to approve the ordinance, and Council Member Amanda Chavarria seconded. The minutes word the motion as "Add attachment B, exclude what has not been approved."³

Before the motion, a speaker said one parcel kept the developer from dedicating the whole trail system. The same speaker said the other park issues had been resolved "but for the trails." The speaker recommended adopting the Exhibit B that Owen had sent out, with the trails removed. Owen's motion then called for "the addition of attachment B," with the trails taken out of the current draft.²²

Benefield asked whether the motion covered the "dollar value" disclosures. A speaker answered that they were not included yet and would need more work. A speaker said, "I'm not prepared to tell you for sure that that's okay," and that "Bart" should weigh in.²² Earlier council minutes name Bart Fowler as the city's bond counsel, its outside lawyers for bond sales.¹³

A council member asked that Bullock be authorized to discuss the disclosures with Bart, and a speaker said no motion was needed for that. A speaker said that once the city edits the Exhibit B, it will give the edited version to P3Works for its disclosure packet.²² The vote was 7-0, with Mayor Shane Saum, Owen, and Council Members Benefield, Prince, Chavarria, Karen Van Ness, and Jess Hall voting yes.³ Section 2 of the posted ordinance approves the plan attached as Exhibit A and does not mention an attachment B. We could not find whether attachment B was added to the signed ordinance later.¹

The plan's Exhibit C holds buyer notices that state a principal assessment for each lot type.¹

How much do Tessera owners still owe?

The 2026 plan sorts the debt into four areas. Improvement Area #1 owes $3,173,111.36. Improvement Area #2 owes $4,032,642.04.¹

Improvement Area #3 owes $32,041,969.74. The Major Improvement Area owes $14,162,826.40.¹

Area #3 is the largest because $19,169,086.94 of it secures a reimbursement obligation, which repays the developer for costs it paid up front. The other $12,872,882.80 secures the 2024 bonds. The developer's repayment carries 6.00% interest through 2054.¹

What does one Tessera home pay?

Every Improvement Area #3 lot also carries a Major Improvement Area charge.¹ A 40-foot lot in Phase 2 is called Lot Type 14 in the plan.⁴ In 2027 it owes $3,888.88 for Area #3 and $822.55 for the Major Improvement Area. Together that is $4,711.43.¹

Its schedule runs through 2054 and totals $133,966.96.¹ A 60-foot lot in Phase 3C, Lot Type 17, owes $5,929.34 in 2027.^1,4 Its schedule totals $168,969.89 through 2054. The plan calls these figures "estimates only and subject to change."¹

The buyer notice for the 40-foot lot prints a principal assessment of $61,701.48.^1,4 Our earlier story on planned development districts reported this lot type's Area #3 share, $51,298.58. Its $10,402.89 Major Improvement Area share brings the total to within a cent of the buyer notice.¹

For comparison, the 2026 property tax rates on a Tessera home add up to $2.187961 per $100 of taxable value.^23,24,25 That is $2,187.96 in property tax for each $100,000 of taxable value.²³ The PID installment is a dollar amount set for each lot, not a rate on the home's value.¹

Does the city's PID policy apply to Tessera?

The city's PID policy caps the yearly assessment at $0.50 per $100 of assessed value "as a result of the initial bond issue for a new PID." The council approved that policy on May 5, 2022, and adopted it by ordinance on July 6, 2023. The policy says it "shall apply to PID applications filed after the effective date of this ordinance."²⁶ Tessera's PID was created in 2012, nearly 11 years before that ordinance.¹

We compared Tessera's 2027 installments with the county's 2026 values for 27 homes that had a house on the county roll in both 2025 and 2026.^1,27 For 16 homes in Improvement Area #3, the installment works out to $0.98 to $1.61 per $100 of value.²⁷ That is about two to 3.2 times the city's cap.^26,27 For 11 homes in the older Areas #1 and #2, it works out to $0.18 to $0.29, under the cap. The six 40-foot homes, the lot type in our example above, came out highest as a group, at $1.19 to $1.61, or about 2.4 to 3.2 times the cap.²⁷ The policy applies its cap when a new PID first sells bonds, so this is a comparison with today's values, not a test of the rule.²⁶

The policy also sets rules for telling buyers about a newer PID. The developer must put up signs at major entrances and exits that show the PID exists. Sales centers must have signs and flyers, updated at least once a year, that give the total assessment, the average yearly installment, and the equivalent tax rate. Builders must have buyers sign the state's PID notice at contract and again at closing, and keep the signed forms for the city to inspect. Builder contracts must also require the PID to be shown in any home listing on the multiple listing service (MLS), which real estate agents share.²⁶

Back in October 2025, Benefield's memo listed those rules and then said Tessera "may be considered 'grandfathered' and therefore exempt." It said former Council Member Mark Tippetts required signs along Tessera Parkway that disclosed the PID, and that those signs "have since been removed." The memo named Toll Brothers, Westin, Saratoga, Trophy, and Coventry as builders filing disclosure forms without dollar amounts. It said Highland Homes "appears to be the only builder consistently filing disclosures with proper amounts." It also said marketing material from Hines showed "Tax Rate: 2.94% (includes MUDs, PIDs, etc.)," which it said presents the PID as part of property taxes. Those are the memo's statements, not findings by the city.¹⁹ State law's notice rule applies in Tessera either way.¹⁰

Our calculations. The $53,410,549.54 total adds the four area totals. The $2.187961 rate adds the six taxing units on every Tessera parcel, not counting the PID, which are Travis County, Lago Vista ISD, Central Health, ESD No. 1, ESD No. 7, and the city. The $2,187.96 applies that rate to $100,000. The per-$100 figures use only homes with a house on the county's 2025 and 2026 rolls. They add each sampled home's 2027 installments from every Tessera assessment roll that lists it, divide by the home's 2026 net appraised value on the appraisal district's website, and multiply by 100. Area #1 and #2 lots carry their share of the Major Improvement Area in their own area's charge. The $10,402.89 adds the lot's two Major Improvement Area principal amounts. The notice's printed $61,701.48 is one cent more than the plan's table figures add to, $61,701.47, likely from rounding.

Who pays if an owner does not?

If an owner does not pay, the unpaid installment is handled like unpaid property taxes, and the 2024 bonds can never be repaid from city property taxes.^4,5 The Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector collects the Area #3 assessments.⁴ An installment is delinquent, or late, if unpaid by Jan. 31, 2027.¹ A late installment faces penalties and a foreclosure sale, the same as unpaid property taxes.⁴

P3Works, LLC, the district's administrator, prepares each year's plan so owners can be billed.⁴ The plan sets aside "Additional Interest" in a reserve for delinquencies and prepayments. The plan pages we reviewed report no delinquency figures.¹ For the 2024 bonds, the bond indenture, the contract with bondholders, says they "do not give rise to a charge against the general credit or taxing powers of the City."⁵

How did Turnback Ranch's PID start?

Turnback Development, LLC filed a petition on Aug. 2, 2022, to create a PID on about 241.54 acres.²⁸ On Aug. 17, 2023, Council Member Kevin Sullivan moved and Council Member Rob Durbin seconded a resolution accepting the petition. The council voted unanimously.²⁹ The cover page said the item "would not obligate the City to approve the creation of the PID nor approval of the PID bonds."²⁸

On Sept. 21, 2023, the council unanimously approved the ranch's zoning plan, which our planned development district story covered.³⁰ Mayor Ed Tidwell called the council's Sept. 28, 2023, special meeting to order, and Council Member Paul Roberts had an excused absence. Mayor Pro Tem Prince moved and Sullivan seconded a development agreement with two amendments, and the council approved it unanimously. One amendment made a $1 million park fee a per-lot fee instead of part of the PID cost.³¹

The other added "but not to exceed $.050 per 100-dollar valuation" to the tax-rate section. Prince moved and Durbin seconded a dissolution agreement, and the vote was unanimous. Durbin then moved and Prince seconded Resolution 23-2015, which created the district, and the council approved it unanimously.³¹

Under the dissolution agreement, the owner agrees the city may dissolve the district if bonds are not issued or assessments are not levied within three years. The draft in the packet set the date at Sept. 28, 2026, which has now passed.⁶

What would Turnback owners pay?

The draft development agreement in the council packet capped PID bonds at $40,000,000. Each series of bonds must mature within 30 years. A series also needs a value-to-lien ratio of at least 3 to 1, meaning the land's appraised value must be at least three times the assessment on it.⁶

The staff report said the city's "faith and credit are not pledged to the repayment of PID bonds." It added that owners "will be required to pay special assessments in addition to their existing property taxes."⁶

The city's policy caps a new PID's assessment at the lesser of two limits. One is $0.50 per $100 of value, and the other keeps the PID rate plus all overlapping property tax rates at or below $3.00 per $100 of value.²⁶ As typed in the minutes, "$.050" would be five cents per $100 of value. The minutes do not say which figure the council meant.³¹

Why did the Turnback deadline move?

On Oct. 2, 2025, one council member said the city had agreed in its development agreement to "facilitate" Turnback's PID. The member said trying to dissolve it "would be just inviting a lawsuit."²⁰

On July 2, 2026, the council met in regular session and, after a closed session, acted on the extension.⁷ City Attorney Bullock described the request as one "to extend that dissolution period from the original three years to five years." He said Turnback asked for it "on the basis of internal delays within the city," most of all in development services. He recommended approval and said, "It's not through lack of diligence on anybody's part."³²

Jeff Howard, an attorney for Turnback Development, was available for questions. Owen moved to approve the amendment, and Council Member Jess Hall seconded.⁷ A council member said some of the developer's applications with the city were "well over 200 days old" and that the council "really couldn't say no at this point."³² Benefield, who joined remotely, said he would "put the developer on notice" that he opposed "any further extensions."^7,32

The vote was 6-0, with Saum, Benefield, Owen, Prince, Chavarria, and Hall voting yes. Council Member Karen Van Ness was excused. The signed amendment and its new deadline are not in the meeting packets or minutes we reviewed.⁷

Where does each stand now?

Tessera's next installments are due Jan. 31, 2027.² The council must review and update the plan every year.¹ For the Turnback PID, the July 2, 2026, extension is the latest action we found.⁷

The short version

Tessera property owners owe $53,410,549.54 in assessments, and $4,213,564.99 is due Jan. 31, 2027.^1,2

The council adopted the 2026 plan 7-0 on Aug. 6, 2026.³

A 40-foot lot owes $4,711.43 in 2027, and its schedule totals $133,966.96 through 2054.^1,4

The 2024 Tessera bonds are not payable from city property taxes.⁵

For Area #3 homes we checked, the installment is about two to 3.2 times the cap in the city's 2023 PID policy, which covers only PIDs applied for after it took effect.^26,27

Turnback Ranch's draft agreement allowed up to $40,000,000 in bonds, but the council records we searched show no bonds or assessments.^6,7

What we could not find

• Whether the edited Exhibit B reached P3Works and the disclosure packets given to builders.²²
• Any later council action on dollar-value disclosures after Aug. 6, 2026.²²
• Who answered the council's legal questions on Aug. 6, 2026.²²
• Whether the Exhibit B from Aug. 21, 2025, reached the buyer notices that builders use.¹⁷
• Whether the trails and the ramp have been given to the city, and whether the council approved the pool correction deed after tabling it on Nov. 6, 2025.²¹
• Tessera delinquency amounts, reserve draws, and how much principal owners have prepaid.¹
• The signed Turnback amendment and its new deadline.⁷
• Any Turnback bond sale, levy, or assessment roll.⁶
• Which figure the council meant by "$.050" on Sept. 28, 2023.³¹
• Whether the city tested the 2023 policy's cap before it approved the Area #3 bonds on Jan. 4, 2024.^13,26

What you can do

• File a Texas Public Information Act request on the city's records request page for the signed Turnback amendment, its deadline, and any Turnback bond or levy filings.³³
• In the same request, ask for attachment B, Ordinance 26-08-06-01 with every attachment, and the P3Works reports on Tessera delinquencies and the reserve.³³
• Also ask for the buyer disclosure forms builders filed, any records of PID signs or sales-center flyers in Tessera, and any deeds for the Tessera trails, ramp, and pool.³³
• Look up any Tessera home's value on the Travis Central Appraisal District website, and its 2027 installment in the plan's assessment rolls.^1,27
• Look up Tessera's bond filings on the Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) website, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board's public bond site.¹
• If you think your assessment roll has an error, send written notice to the administrator by Dec. 1, 2026.¹
• If you are buying in Tessera, ask for the written PID notice before you sign, because state law requires it.¹⁰

If you have records on this, you can share them with us at /share-records. We protect your identity and publish the evidence when we can do so safely.