Even though the decision to increase income taxes got most of the attention, city officials are quietly moving ahead with plans that may also increase taxes for some residents through a process some have considered a four-letter word:
Annexation.
Although no decisions have been made and nothing is expected to happen until 2015 at the earliest, city spokesman John Perlich said areas north, northeast and south of Fort Wayne are being evaluated to determine whether they meet state guidelines for annexation and would make financial sense for the city.
Examination of at least two areas, in fact, has progressed to the point that the city has produced maps suggesting possible boundaries and detailing the number of structures and people that might be affected. The “Mariner's Ridge” area east of Fort Wayne International Airport, roughly bounded U.S. 27, Airport Expressway and Winters, Ferguson and Bluffton roads, contains about 7 square miles and in 2010 was home to 2,737. The “Airport West” area – to the west of the airport, naturally – contains four square miles and is roughly bounded by Lower
Huntington, Smith, Winters and Coverdale roads. Just 431 people lived there in 2010, but since then the area has become home to one of the biggest economic development successes the county has seen in years: the relocation of Franklin Electric Co.'s headquarters from Bluffton.
Some county officials caution that annexation and the city taxes that accompany it may impede future efforts to lure investment to the affected areas. City officials, however, say changes in state law to minimize limit the tax increases that made some previous annexations so controversial.
Under state law, areas are eligible for annexation if they are at least one-eighth contiguous to the city and have a population density of at least three people per square mile, zoned for commercial or business use of at least 60 percent subdivided; or if they are at least 25 percent contiguous and the area must be needed by the city for development in the near future.
But the city will consider other factors as well, according to Director of Community Development John Urbahns and Planning Director Pam Holocher. A starting point will be the availability of city utilities. “And it has to work financially,” Holocher said, noting that the revenue generated must pay for the services the city would have to provide, such as police and fire protection.
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