Annexation Fair?

The laws of Texas that govern annexation by cities seems inherently unfair.  Cities have had the ability to involuntarily annex areas adjacent to their boundaries since the passage of the Home Rule Amendment to the Texas Constitution in 1912.  There have been some reforms passed since then as the result of abuses, notably by Houston.  The Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) was passed in 1963 which allowed cities to impose ordinances and codes on areas adjacent to the city, but its citizens are not required to pay city taxes, receive city services, nor can they vote in city elections.  This seems to be a "taking" of property rights without compensation or a right to vote.

The cities absolutely control the annexation process and the citizens of the area to be annexed have no voice in the matter, either to object or consent.  It is almost legally impossible under current law to challenge or contest an annexation.  This is definitely unfair and the laws need to be changed to allow the affected property owners to decide, by majority vote, whether they want to be annexed or not.

The most egregious abuser of the annexation laws currently is San Antonio.  They have initiated the annexation process for 66 square miles with a population of 200,000, against the majorities wishes.  They are about to start the process on another 87 square miles with a population of about 50,000.  Also against their wishes.  This would increase the city footprint from 486 square miles to 637 square miles.

Another common abuse, especially around Houston, is the  immediate imposition of city taxes, ordinances, and codes with delays of years to provide city services such as fire, police, water and sewer.  Thus the property owners are required to pay for services that they may not receive for many years.

There are a number of reasons that cities annex property, most can be boiled down to economics, although many other reasons will be articulated.

This is another government process that redistributes wealth from outlying areas to the downtown.  The cities look to annex areas that have already experienced significant growth and thus a "rich" tax base, and they look to annex undeveloped areas that are expected to have significant growth in the future.  Of course, developers support this latter approach as it provides them the opportunity to build developments that they can market as having city services. It is all about the money.

Looking at the city of Georgetown, it seems ripe for annexation activities as the map of the city boundaries shows many gaps and holes.  The property owners in these areas, including the ETJ will have to be vigilant to protect themselves from those who would like to redistribute their wealth into the city coffers.

Let your State Senator and Representative know that you expect them to change the state laws on annexation that will allow the property owners in a proposed annexation be allowed to vote, with majority rule, on whether or not they wish to be annexed.