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memo�andum <br />TO: Mayor & Council <br />FROM: John Godwin, City Manager <br />SUBJECT: ANNEXATION/DISANNEXATION POLICY <br />DATE: May 6, 2013 <br />BACKGROUND: The city has received a number of requests recently for disannexations, three <br />of which have been approved in the last twelve months, and three more on which no final action <br />has yet been taken. In order to help the city council address both sides of this single coin, and to <br />help ensure the city's property values and boundaries are adequately protected, an overall policy <br />can help make sure decisions are rational and consistent from one case to the next. <br />In order to clarify one recurring claim, I want to again explain the inaccuracy of the notion that <br />city residents are paying for services that they are not receiving. Residents often think that <br />because they pay property taxes that those funds help pay for provision of water and sewer <br />services. That is not in any way correct. Property taxes in Paris go to one of two funds — <br />General or Debt Service. Taxes pay for police, fire, administration, finance, EMS, library, and <br />parks. The only way a resident is paying taxes for something he/she is not getting is if one of <br />those services is denied. If a resident does not get water or sewer, that resident does not get a <br />water of sewer bill, so they are not paying for it. No taac money goes to the Utilities Fund. <br />STATUS OF ISSUE: The attached policy is rather lengthy and detailed. The first, larger, two <br />parts set the stage for why a city should annex from time to time, and why protection of its <br />boundaries is one of the very key functions of city government. It also describes Texas cities' <br />authority within their extra-territorial jurisdictions. Part IV of the policy seeks to actually lay out <br />a specific, quantifiable, list of reasons and qualifications to annex (or obversely, to disannex) <br />parcels in and near the city limit. <br />BUDGET: Annexations typically will generate additional revenue through ad valorem taxes; <br />disannexations reduce ad valorem taxes. <br />RECOMMENDATION: Approve attached policy, with any revisions agreed upon. <br />�� 55 <br />