Georgetown officials updated City Council members on current voter-approved bond projects at a May 12 workshop meeting.

The city is also preparing for a May 2027 bond election to continue work on transportation, facilities and parks projects throughout Georgetown.

What’s happening: There are several ongoing capital improvement projects in Georgetown that will continue through fiscal years 2026-27 and 2027-28, funded by previous voter-approved bonds.

Looking ahead: City officials also asked council members for direction on projects to include in a May 2027 bond election, which will fund capital improvements over the next 12 years.

Conservative financial models predict Georgetown will have a debt capacity of about $494 million between FYs 2028-29 and 2037-38, Woolery said. The majority of the funding is bookmarked for transportation projects, which is a community priority, he said.

What’s next? To authorize a bond election in May 2027, council members would need to vote on the election in February 2027.

As the school year draws to a close, Georgetown ISD’s class of 2026 has only a handful of days left before graduation.

Two-minute impact: GISD will host graduation ceremonies May 21-23.

Graduation ceremonies for both Georgetown High School and East View High School will take place at the Athletic Complex, while Richarte High School graduates will walk at the Klett Performing Arts Center.

Richarte High School

• May 21, 7 p.m.
• Klett Performing Arts Center, 2211 N. Austin Ave., Georgetown

• May 22, 8 p.m.
• Georgetown ISD Athletic Complex, 2275 N. Austin Ave., Georgetown

• May 23, 8 p.m.
• Georgetown ISD Athletic Complex, 2275 N. Austin Ave., Georgetown

Check out the latest transportation projects across the Austin metro. 

Upcoming projects
Bee Cave Road AI traffic signals
Project: West Lake Hills will install nine artificial intelligence traffic signals along Bee Cave Road to try and improve traffic efficiency along the corridor.
Update: City Council moved forward with funding the traffic signals April 22.

• Timeline: TBD
• Cost: $360,000
• Funding source: city tax revenue proceeds, general fund

• Timeline: August 2024-summer 2027
• Cost: $52.4 million
• Funding source: Williamson County 2019 road bond

The latest data from Unlock MLS shows signs that the housing market is ticking up in Central Texas, with higher year-over-year home sales and homes selling closer to their original listing price.

The details: Representing the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan statistical area, or MSA, the data released May 12 shows residential home sales increased 2% year over year in April for the MSA, reaching 2,648. That's the highest number of monthly home sales so far this year, up from a 0.5% year-over-year increase in March and decreases in both January and February. 

“What stands out in April’s data is the shift in buyer psychology and overall market momentum," said Vaike O’Grady, market research advisor at Unlock MLS, in a news release. "Many buyers who had been delaying their home search took advantage of the temporary dip in mortgage rates we saw earlier this year and moved quickly once conditions became more manageable."

Increasing pending and closed sales point to a market where buyers are "stepping into the market with more urgency," O'Grady said.

The Texas Supreme Court on May 15 denied Gov. Greg Abbott’s request to remove state Rep. Gene Wu from office after the Houston Democrat led his colleagues in a walkout to protest congressional redistricting last summer.

The details: In the court’s majority opinion, Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock ruled that because Wu and other House Democrats “voluntarily returned” to the Capitol two weeks after their August departure, it was not necessary for the court to get involved.

The court also rejected a petition by Attorney General Ken Paxton to expel Wu and 12 other Democrats over the walkout, consolidating the two requests in one ruling.

What they're saying: Wu celebrated the ruling in a May 15 statement, saying that "the Constitution does not let a governor erase voters’ choices when their choices are inconvenient to him."

Abbott's office argued the governor's August lawsuit helped end the walkout and said the state was prepared to fight future quorum breaks: "If Democrats abandon their offices again, the governor will bring them right back to the Texas Supreme Court."