Well, we now know one of the ideas for the trailer Carpenter wants the Chamber of Commerce to buy, block parties for the neighborhoods. If I read it right, one of the ideas would be to take them to an area outside the city limits, and have it set up to provide information to try to make people come into the city limits, to be annexed. Is that correct, did I read that right.
Would it be, "Be Annexed Today: 2 free hot dogs and a pepsi with each annexation".
We talked about this after we read the article. I wonder how it would be presented to those residents they want to draw into the city.
The main thing residents would want to know is, what are the benefits to ME, and how much more will it cost ME in the long run? I hope they'll be prepared with factual information, such as hypothetical tax acessments and the costs involved with them.
For example, if they set up at the tattersall pool parking lot, they could have a board with 10 homes tax acessments listed. With each of them, they would list their in city costs, compared with the county costs.
Like: City tax total %
County tax total %
School tax total (already there for Tattersall)
Garbage fee
Misc tax amounts.
INSURANCE PREMIUM TAX TOTALS (this would be on the estimated cost of insurance for a home, $250K value with replacement cost coverage; and 3 vehicles, two with full coverage, one with liability only, with the 3rd car being an in school teenager rate.
Fire insurance rating for the city vs. county, with a price comparison for each, obtained from 3 local insurance agents as a guide.
City water rate differences, in city resident vs. out of city resident rates.
Sewer rates, in city vs. out of city rates.
Electrical rates won't apply I don't believe, as they are on RECC or KU I believe.
Increase in insurance rates for the Pool area, as the liabiity rate costs will go up since they're in the cty, and who will pay them, and the insurance premium tax total on that as well.
City fire protection plan: The closest city fire station is south corbin by the high school, with only one fireman on duty, normally. The other, the main st. station, another 1.5 -2 miles from that one. This would be unacceptable to me as a homeowner in Tattersall.
Police patrol plan. Again, you're 2 or 3 miles from the present city limits. What would be the police patrol plan, "call us if you need us, it may take awhile".
Sidewalks: I love the new downtown sidewalk project. Good idea. But, the tax base of Tattersall is probably more than the entire downtown portion of corbin. I think they would expect sidewalks, and soon.
I wonder who would be at the trailer for this special party. The mayor, the commissioners, city utilities manager, fire chief, police chief? Yes, they would all need to be there. After all, they would all have new voters and taxpayers to answer to.
For annexation you have to have a plan, and we have no plan. Talk to London, Lexington, or any city out there about how they annexed thousands into their city over the past several years, and it was not with "mobile units" or trailers.
Mobile units?
Come on, lets start operating our city in the real world instead of this silly nonsense we keep hearing about. The Advocate is right, come up with a plan that explains what advantages there are in being annexed, work out some incentives, and then execute the plan. Simple business process guys.
