The Elon Musk-fueled spate of development coming to Bastrop has political leaders of the Central Texas town wondering if it still needs an economic development corporation.
City officials in the fast-growing town 30 miles east of Austin are considering a ballot measure to dissolve the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation, signaling a dramatic shift in how the city approaches growth and business incentives, the Austin Business Journal reported.
City Council and the EDC board met Oct. 21 and directed staff to craft a dissolution plan for voter consideration in November of next year. The move reflects mounting skepticism about the EDC’s usefulness at a time when Bastrop has become a magnet for major employers without needing the kind of subsidies or tax incentives that once defined the city’s strategy.
Bastrop is home to facilities for Musk’s Boring Company and SpaceX and has gotten the attention of the film industry with actor Zachary Levi launching a $100 million campus in the town for the filming of “non-woke movies.” Development activity has also spurred multifamily projects; plus, the city is weighing a 390-acre mixed-use development that would include a convention center, hospital and hotel.
“Once upon a time, Bastrop created the EDC and set this tax up because we were a sleepy little town,” Mayor Pro Tem John Kirkland said during the meeting. “We’re no longer that. We’re a destination for businesses.”
Bastrop established its EDC in 1995, funded by a portion of local sales taxes. After years of tension over spending priorities, voters slashed the EDC’s funding by 75 percent last year, redirecting most of the revenue to road improvements. The agency now receives just one-eighth of a cent of sales tax, or about $1.1 million annually, compared with $3.3 million going to infrastructure.
City Manager Sylvia Carrillo-Trevino, who also serves as the EDC’s interim executive director, said the organization has long suffered from limited authority and friction with past councils. The EDC can’t act independently on incentives or land purchases, requiring council sign-off — a dynamic some officials described as a “parent-child relationship.”
Supporters of dissolution argue the city can still offer targeted incentives without the EDC, freeing up funds for community projects like park upgrades, downtown infrastructure and affordable housing. Officials have floated ideas ranging from a $10 million arena renovation and downtown parking garage to new partnerships with local colleges. Another option under consideration: diverting the sales tax to a crime control district that could fund five or six new police officers.
The EDC still has about $5 million in outstanding obligations, including $2 million owed to Acutronic USA under a prior incentive deal, which would have to be addressed before winding down.
Mayor Ishmael Harris cautioned against sending the wrong message, saying, “We don’t want to give the impression that we’re not trying to have businesses come here.”
— Eric Weilbacher
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