Will Arkansas' twin city in Texas become larger?
Bowie County, Texas, residents on Wednesday made clear to the Texarkana, Texas, City Council that they do not want their property annexed into the city limits.
In the second public hearing on seven proposed annexations, residents pleaded with the council not to annex land that in many cases has been in their families for generations and they have lived on their whole lives. About 100 people attended the meeting, filling a room at the Pleasant Grove Independent School District central services office to standing-room-only capacity.
A parade of speakers repeated many of the same concerns expressed during the first hearing last week.
They are happy with services such as firefighting and law enforcement provided to them by other entities and do not want what the city has to offer, many said. New expenses such as city and school district property taxes, the cost of connecting to city water and sewer service, and city permits would be prohibitive, especially to retirees and others on fixed incomes.
Some common rural activities -- such as raising livestock, selling produce and burning brush -- would become illegal or highly regulated, in some cases eliminating sources of income.
Most importantly, many said, the proposed annexations would be a "land grab" tantamount to theft, with those affected subject to "taxation without representation." Some accused the council members of having already made up their minds to annex the land, despite Texarkana, Texas, Mayor Bob Bruggeman's insistence that no decision yet has been made.
Texarkana is generally considered one city by the people who live and shop in the area and by commercial businesses. State Line Avenue is a dividing line between the two cities and the two states.
Each city has its own municipal government, including separate police and fire departments. The cities share use of a regional jail and water utilities agency. Texas does not assess a state income tax. So, residents of Texarkana on the Arkansas side are exempt from Arkansas' income tax, as long as they claim the exemption on a tax form.
As is usual during public hearings the Texarkana, Texas, council conducts, members remained mostly silent, only occasionally answering specific questions posed to them.
"Our little speck in this city ain't broke. And you know the old saying, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it,'" Brian Nicholson said.
Representing resident Gwen Estill, attorney Amy Freedman said she supports the growth of Texarkana, Texas, but it must be achieved more responsibly.
"There are people in this room, it's going to break their back," Freedman said. "You have people here who are scared to death."
Linda Akin spoke about her family's farm, which just had its 100th anniversary, saying that annexing it would put an end to an entire way of life.
"I think we need to protect our small family farms," she said.
Jerry Borcherding said he drove for more than six hours to ask the council not to annex his family's property.
"Heritage properties need to be left alone," he said, adding that perhaps a development agreement could be reached that would stop land from being annexed as long as it remains in the same family.
"There are some innovative ways to make this happen other than the hammer and nail method, breaking backs and breaking hearts," Borcherding said.
In May, the council voted unanimously to authorize preparing plans for extending city services into the proposed additions, a preliminary step in the process of annexation that requires public hearings.
The areas range in size from 17.3 acres to 688.57 acres and total more than 1,780 acres. The largest tracts are an area west of Kings Highway, south of Hughes Road and Arnold Lane, east of Old Red Lick Road; and an area along Leggett Drive and Pine Ridge Circle surrounded by the existing Texarkana, Texas, city limits.
Metro on 07/20/2018