What would Schertz’s proposed drainage fee increase pay for?

Schertz staff proposed raising the drainage charge from $8 to $11 a month per home equivalent. The added cost would support borrowing for seven listed projects, subject to the ordinance’s final status.

By Guadalupe.News Government Desk · Source-linked local reporting

Published October 27, 2026 at 9:46 AM CDT2 min read

Proposed in Oct. 13 council materials

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An illustrated park with trees, playground equipment, and a path sits behind a rolled-out plan showing a winding green channel. — Illustration: A drainage plan in the foreground suggests proposed infrastructure work beside a neighborhood park; the scene does not depict a reported event.Original editorial illustration; not a photograph and does not depict the reported event or an exact property.Guadalupe.News Visual Desk · Original illustration · Source ↗ · Guadalupe.News original illustration ↗

Schertz staff proposed a $3 monthly increase per home equivalent to help finance $8.375 million in drainage projects. How does a small change on a monthly bill support a much larger construction plan?

The staff memo lists an existing drainage fee of $8 per month per home equivalent. It proposes $11 per month per home equivalent, effective Nov. 1, 2026, or the next bill thereafter. Those are rates for the city’s billing unit, not a verified charge for every address.

From the source record

Proposed monthly drainage charge · Dollars per home equivalent

Existing charge$8

Proposed charge$11

Proposed increase$3

The increase is a difference between rates, not a third charge. Individual bills may depend on account details.

Monthly drainage charge per home equivalent in the Oct. 13 Schertz staff proposal.The $11 rate was proposed for Nov. 1, 2026, or the next bill thereafter.

What it costs

For one home equivalent, the proposed increase is $3 per month, or $36 across 12 full months. The $8 and $11 monthly rates correspond to $96 and $132 over 12 full months per home equivalent. That is a Guadalupe.News calculation of the proposed rates, assuming a full year at each rate; it is an illustration rather than an individual bill.

Existing and proposed drainage charges per home equivalent, shown monthly and over 12 full months
Rate	Monthly	12 months
Existing	$8	$96
Proposed	$11	$132
Difference	$3	$36

The 12-month amounts illustrate the stated rates; they are not verified account bills.

The memo projects $800,000 in additional annual revenue to support debt payments on $8,375,000 in drainage projects. Here is the mechanism: the proposed charge would add a recurring revenue stream, and the city would use that stream to help make payments on money borrowed for the work. The $800,000 figure is a projection for a year; the $8.375 million figure describes the projects the memo connects to that financing.

Which projects are listed?

The listed projects are FM 78 South Channel, Wendy Swan, Kramer Farm, Woodbridge, Portage Lane, Morning Drive and Oak Forest. Those names give residents a way to identify the work tied to the fee proposal. They do not, by themselves, tell a household how much its own bill would be or when a particular location would see construction.

What happens next?

The Oct. 13 council agenda placed Ordinance 26-M-032 at Item 9. Residents can use the council agenda to identify the proposal, then check the official record of that meeting and any signed ordinance to establish its final status before applying the proposed November billing date to their own accounts.

What would Schertz’s proposed drainage fee increase pay for?

What it costs

Which projects are listed?

What happens next?

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