Does a Texas irrigation or drainage district have to bid out a website?

Under Texas Water Code 49.273 a district is not required to advertise or seek competitive bids for contracts of $25,000 or less. The Open District build is $4,500 and a year of posting is $1,995 or $2,340.

Who owns the domain and the website?

The district. The domain is registered in the district's name, the hosting account is the district's, and the handover packet lists every login.

Does Texas law require a water district to have a website?

Tax Code 26.18 requires every taxing unit to maintain or have access to a website and post its board, budgets, tax rates, and audit. Government Code 2051.202 adds meeting notices and minutes for the current and prior year for qualifying special purpose districts. Districts that only charge assessments are not required to have a site, but once they do, Government Code 2051.201 and 551.056 set what must be on it.

What is the ADA website deadline for special districts?

The U.S. Department of Justice rule under ADA Title II sets WCAG 2.1 AA for state and local governments. For special districts and public entities under 50,000 population the compliance date is April 26, 2028; for larger governments it is April 26, 2027. Confirm with your attorney.

How long does an Open District site take?

21 business days from the day Triggers Media receives the district's documents, with the domain, board page, and next meeting live in week one.

For irrigation and drainage districts

Your agendas, minutes, and budget online, the way Texas law asks. We build it. We post it.

Live in 21 business days. From then on, you email the PDF and it is on the site the same day, stamped.

Get the free 12-point check See a district site

Past work: City of McAllen · McAllen ISD · Los Fresnos EDC · UTRGV · DHR Health · RGV Partnership

engelmanid.org (concept site)

Home page of the Engelman Irrigation District concept site showing the next board meeting, the agenda link, and the posted-on stamp

September 2026

We checked every district in the Valley.

irrigation and drainage districts in Hidalgo, Cameron, and Willacy

with a website that is dead, expired, or still says "Coming Soon"

with no website at all

If yours is one of them, the fix is smaller than you think.

What the law asks

Six rules. One page.

Tax Code §26.18Every taxing district must have a website with its board, budgets, tax rate, and audit.
Gov't Code §2051.202Taxing districts post every agenda and the minutes for this year and last.
Gov't Code §2051.201Once you have a site: board, next election, filing deadlines, notices, minutes.
Gov't Code §551.056 + HB 1522Agenda online three business days before the meeting. With a posting date.
Local Gov't Code §140.008The Comptroller asks for your website address every year.
ADA Title II web rule (federal)District websites and the documents on them must meet WCAG 2.1 AA by April 26, 2028.

Levy a property tax? The first two apply today. Assessments only? Build it right once.

Not legal advice. Your attorney gets a one-page map of which page satisfies which rule.

What you get

Seven pages. Big type. Documents that open.

Home

HomeNext meeting, notices, phone in large type

About

AboutPurpose, map, staff

Board

BoardDirectors, terms, next election

Meetings

MeetingsAgendas and minutes, two years, stamped

Notices

NoticesTax hearings, elections, allotments

Documents

DocumentsRates, budgets, audit, Comptroller link

Contact

ContactHours, map, records requests

Click through the whole site Every thumbnail opens the real page.

How it works

You do three things.

Send us a folder of PDFs

Agendas, minutes, budget, audit, your board list. One 60-minute call.

We build it in 21 business days

Board page and next meeting live in week one.

You email the PDF. We post it.

Same business day, stamped. You never log in to anything.

Price

One number to build it. One to never think about it again.

One time

Open District Site

$4,500

Seven pages on your own domain, built to the statute checklist and WCAG 2.1 AA, with the audit report at launch
Two years of agendas and minutes migrated and stamped
Compliance map, every login in writing, 45-minute training
Comptroller report filed with you the same month
Half to start, half at launch

Monthly

Posting & Care

$195a month, or $1,995 a year

Unlimited posting within one business day, every PDF made screen-reader readable before it goes up
Hosting, backups, security
Board, rates, budget, audit refreshed every year
Quarterly 12-point check and accessibility scan, one page for your board
Three-month minimum, then month to month

Add-ons: Spanish $750 · property lookup map $500 · extra archive year $350 · second district under the same manager 30% off · photo and drone work quoted per district.

Under $5,000 fits most managers' signing authority. Under $25,000 needs no bids (Water Code §49.273).

Start with the free 12-point check

Two guarantees

Written so they cost us something.

Not live in 21 business days?

Your first three months of posting are free.

A document not posted in one business day?

That month is free.

Who we are

A Valley studio. Years of public-entity work. New to districts.

Also Los Fresnos EDC. Past work, listed as past work.

Questions

Straight answers.

Do we have to bid this out?

No. Water Code §49.273: nothing under $25,000 needs bids or quotes.

Who owns the site?

The district. Domain, hosting, every login, in writing.

We already have a site.

Send the address. We check it free. If it passes, we say so.

We don't levy a tax.

Then no law forces a site. Once you have one, the law says what goes on it. Build it right once.

Spanish?

Yes, $750, reviewed by a person.

Is this legal advice?

No. We build to the statutes. Your attorney signs off.

Free · two business days

The 12-point posting check

Tell us your district. We check your site, or your no-site, against the twelve things the law asks for, and send back one page you can hand your board.

Or call (956) 884-4877