By Firebeam on 03-13-10
Annexation is rarely good public policy. Cities are lured into thinking they can increase tax revenues by annexation, but they fail to fully analyze and appreciate the long-term cost of annexations.
Many studies have shown that annexing residential land is a losing proposition, and results in more cost to cities than revenue. Commercial land can be feasible to annex, but remains risky—-as this economy demonstrates.
Cities rob Peter to pay Paul when they annex, for very few will proportionately increase police, fire and other infrastructure to cover the protection and service of the newly annexed areas. Nor do the difinitively budget or plan to provide similar or equal services to lands annexed. Instead they discuss adding services in the future, but don’t have the planning or money to back up those discussions. In other words, it’s annexation using the hope and a prayer method.
Citizens (both in the existing city and planned area of annexation) should demand that the city demonstrate exactly how they will serve the new area and do so without further burdening the taxpayers. Further they should demonstrate that the level of service for police, fire and other services can adequately protect the current and new acreage at current levels. DO NOT allow the city to annex for the short term gain in revenue without the demonstrated math that they can recoup the cost and the “deal” pencils out feasibly. Developers should be on the hook for the full cost of the annexation, for it is they that reap the immediate benefit, but the taxpayer that gets stuck with the long-term cost.
In general, be very, very suspisious of annexation—-they rarely are a good deal for the taxpayer and are tantamount to the city paying their bills with a maxed-out credit card.
By emerson on 03-18-10
It is kind of ironic and maybe even a little funny that when the Whitefish City Council set up a growth policy that encouraged infill development they were called “anti-growth liberals” by all of the right-wing interest groups.
Now, when the newly elected Kalispell City Council decides to take the exactly same approach it is called “a more conservative approach…”
The views expressed in the comments section do not reflect those of the Beacon.