From the Indianapolis Business Journal:
Property owners in a largely agricultural area southeast of Geist Reservoir are vowing to fight involuntary annexation by the town of Fortville, calling the plan a blatant land grab.
Fortville is seeking to annex almost 6,000 acres to the west, tripling the size of the Hancock County town and adding $53.5 million to its property tax base.
Town officials did not respond to inquiries from IBJ, but a summary of Fortville’s fiscal plan for providing services to the targeted territory described the annexation as “a means for providing for the orderly and planned growth of the municipality.”
Opponents see the proposal as a desperate effort to capture additional tax revenue for the town, which has seen income drop as the result of statewide property tax caps. But adding 9 square miles of territory—and the associated services—doesn’t make sense if Fortville is having trouble making ends meet now, they say.
“Annexation is expensive,” said opposition leader Florence May, who lives in the targeted area despite her McCordsville mailing address. “We think it’s a pretty major stretch.”
The area targeted for annexation has 240 homes and businesses—mostly farms—and an estimated population of 600, according to the town’s fiscal plan summary.
...
See the full article here:
http://www.ibj.com/residents-decry-fortvilles-big-annexation-plans-as-land-grab/PARAMS/article/41046
