Omaha is working to pass another annexation plan and the city is eying seven subdivisions along West Maple Road near two major retailers.
Councilman Chuck Sigerson said that by the end of the summer, people living in seven sewer improvement districts could be Omaha residents.
"Any neighborhood that is in an SID knows the clock is ticking for an annexation from the city of Omaha. It's just a matter of time," Sigerson said.
If the plan passes, Sigerson's district would expand to include 147th to 176th streets along West Maple Road. That includes the neighborhoods of Torrey Pines, West Point, Walnut Ridge, Elk Creek Crossing, Elk Creek Pines, the Thompsen Mile and Whispering Ridge. Two properties near the new Super Target on 176th Street and West Maple Road are also included.
"We have big revenue being lost to the big box stores, the Wal-Marts and the Targets and so forth, and you can't just annex down a street so you have to go from neighborhood to neighborhood," Sigerson said.
Residents of those neighborhoods said they aren't surprised.
I'm sure this will make the OmahaEmpire dude happy... although it seems like picking up retailers like Super Walmart would be automatic (done in time for their openings).
Shoot for the Moon... if you miss, you'll land among the stars.
I just got done doing a butt load of research on every Douglas County SID for possible annexation. We havent forgoten about Glenbrook, its just that the SID's debt is too high for the city to afford at the moment. SIDs that will bring in the most tax dollars kind of have top priority, with SIDs that are close to or done with their bond payments next in the priority line.
Omaha wants to get back into the annexation game, but don't expect any Elkhorn-sized drama this time around.
City officials are looking at adding seven subdivisions along West Maple Road between about 150th and 180th Streets. The area includes a Wal-Mart Supercenter and a SuperTarget under construction.
They say Omaha is missing out on sales tax revenue by not extending the city limits to incorporate those retailers.
"It makes to sense to annex it from a financial standpoint," said Paul Landow, Mayor Mike Fahey's chief of staff.
It doesn't appear that the city will face much resistance from the 3,282 residents who live in the subdivisions, which include Torrey Pines, West Point, Walnut Ridge, Whispering Ridge, Elk Creek Crossing, Elk Creek Pines and The Thompsen Mile.
SIDs that will bring in the most tax dollars kind of have top priority
Yep we are just nice averages houses --- no superstore.
Looking at that map it is interesting how Omaha is play hopscotch with its annexation moves. Â There are some residential areas that are filled in that they are just going right around. Understand the debt thing but maybe it reaches the point it should be expand borders not just pick the pieces you want.
I'm surprised on the Hy Vee as well. Â Maybe the neighborhood behind it is still carrying too much debt. Â I do hope Omaha continues annexing through 2010 (for the census) so that my neighborhood can be annexed (I live north of 156th and Fort).
TitosBuritoBarn wrote:Since groceries aren't taxed, Hy-Vees don't bring in a whole lot of sales tax for the city which is part of the reason why it hasn't been touched yet.
Groceries No, but Deli and Alcohol yes. Â But they would still charge property tax.
Sales tax is the reason to bring things in, not property tax. Â The property tax goes to pay down the SID debt and if it hasn't done a good enough job yet why would the City want to take on the debt. Â A Hy Vee doesn't approach the kind of #s a Wal Mart brings in in sales tax.
When it comes to annexation, Omaha is following the money.
The sales tax money, that is.
With the exception of Elkhorn, Omaha's recent annexations have largely been designed to capture sales tax at major retailers.
Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved annexing seven subdivisions along West Maple Road between about 150th and 180th Streets. The move adds a Wal-Mart Supercenter and a SuperTarget that is under construction to the city.
The annexation, which goes into effect Aug. 15, will also add 3,282 residents to Omaha, upping the city's population to 428,000.
But city officials have been very clear that the annexation is about collecting the 1.5 percent city sales tax from those retailers, not boosting the city's population or filling in the city limits.
omahastylee459 wrote:With all this annexation has the city moved up on the population list? Â Have we overtaken any cities?
Well, according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Un ... population , based on the 2006 population estimates, Virgina Beach is 16,074 peeps ahead of us. So unless they have a population decline, I don't think we've annexed quite enough to overtake it this year.
EDIT: also, someone should update that Wikipedia page. They have skyline shots of the largest 40 cities in America, stopping only two short from having an Omaha shot.
Who ever edits it should use a picture taken from the Postal Annex like:
I am pretty sure that the 2006 figure does not include the Elkhorn or West Maple annexation, and with those I believe Omaha is for sure over 430,000 and may well have surpassed Virginia Beach. I am willing to bet that with some semi-aggressive annexation, Omaha could jump to as high as 38th by 2010.
CapitalGuy wrote:I am pretty sure that the 2006 figure does not include the Elkhorn or West Maple annexation, and with those I believe Omaha is for sure over 430,000 and may well have surpassed Virginia Beach. I am willing to bet that with some semi-aggressive annexation, Omaha could jump to as high as 38th by 2010.
We should annex the entire Metro area and jump up to #12! Â :yes:
C. DAVID KOTOK WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER wrote:In addition to Willow Wood, the residential areas proposed for annexation: Cherry Hills, Linden Estates, Spring Ridge, one of the Pacific Springs subdivisions, Summerwood, Mission Ridge, Oak Hills Estates and Orchard Hill.
Legacy, the Bank of the West campus and the Elkhorn-area Menards are the primary commercial areas that the city wants to annex.
Yes, lets indiscriminately annex a bunch of debt burdened SIDs  whose cost to provide service to is far more than revenue received.  All to boost numbers even though there is no real target or milestone number to reach that would matter enough anyway.  Outstanding.
cdub wrote:Yes, lets indiscriminately annex a bunch of debt burdened SIDs whose cost to provide service to is far more than revenue received. All to boost numbers even though there is no real target or milestone number to reach that would matter enough anyway. Outstanding.
Exactly. I think most people want to annex simply to make Omaha seem larger than it actually is by ignoring metro numbers.
cdub wrote:Yes, lets indiscriminately annex a bunch of debt burdened SIDs whose cost to provide service to is far more than revenue received. All to boost numbers even though there is no real target or milestone number to reach that would matter enough anyway. Outstanding.
Exactly! What's so bad about saying "well, let's crunch the numbers before we do this" while we're in a recession?
Based on Suttle's comments about annexation during the mayoral campaign, compared to what he has actually done, makes me think that I'll believe it when I see it. It seems that there are a lot of opportunities out there that may not have been looked at.
   "If a neighborhood is surrounded by the city limits, Cunningham said the city may not need to spend as much to extend Â
   services, such as police who patrol around an area now."
This seems to be a pretty common sense approach.
I wonder though, have the responsible parties considered the fact that some SIDs may not be filling up BECAUSE they have NOT been annexed?
I am familiar with a situation where homes in one neighborhood that has been annexed, pay 35% lower taxes than the neighborhood one block over that has not been annexed. The annexed neighborhood filled up at least 3X faster than the other, still highly vacant, neighborhood.
Just saying that maybe they have not considered that, if they annex some areas, perhaps they would fill up faster and not have such high debt levels. Maybe a gamble, but could be a boon to the city coffers.
On the flipside, Fromaha, is it possible that by not annexing, are we slowing sprawl? If people prefer to live in the city versus a new, fringe SID, I don't see that as a negative.
The real question is simply: are people choosing Sarpy County over Douglas County when faced with that choice?
I agree, to a certain degree, that sprawl should be avoided where possible.
As to Sarpy County... if people are choosing Sarpy over Douglas, why are they doing so? What makes Sarpy more attractive - both to businesses and residents? Seems like city leaders should be addressing these questions, and adjusting accordingly.
Or, they could just hope that gas prices continue to skyrocket, causing more people to have to live closer to the city's center.
Becka was blathering like an idiot about this last night. Â His comment was that the City should do something else to make it attractive to growth and not just go annexing things. Â Are most people as misinformed as he is? Â Elkhorn being the exception in recent history, annexation is the end of the prescribed development process. Â The stuff would never have been built if not for the sewer provided by Omaha and the notion that it would someday be annexed. Â He kept going on about how the City should be publicizing all these great neighborhoods instead (Dundee, field Club, wherever) to which my question was, are there a ton of vacant houses just waiting to be moved into there? Â The answer, to anyone but Becka perhaps, is no. Â Annexation is decidedly not an effort to drag people in to Omaha proper because the City can't think of anything better to do. Â
Oh, and the notion that Suttle has not annexed much because of republicans in SIDs is equally comical.
It's time for a City and County Merger into a single city. Â Save money by combining the municipalities. Â This would allow Omaha to stop the suburban sprawl beyond its borders. Â Combine the school districts into a single entity to reduce overlap in administrations. Â Combine the suburban SID Levy's into a single debt and make the fee dependent on how far away from the city center your subdivision is. Â Every 5-10 years you can adjust the scale.
"This is America. Â It is my God given right to be loudly opinionated on issues I am completely ignorant of."
TechnicalDisaster wrote:It's time for a City and County Merger into a single city. Save money by combining the municipalities. This would allow Omaha to stop the suburban sprawl beyond its borders. Combine the school districts into a single entity to reduce overlap in administrations. Combine the suburban SID Levy's into a single debt and make the fee dependent on how far away from the city center your subdivision is. Every 5-10 years you can adjust the scale.
LOL. I remember you chewing my |expletive| out one time for suggesting something similar to this.
I was thinking more about this the other day, though. Â Why isn't one part of the property tax assessment a flat fee per dwelling, say $1000? Â I have never liked the idea that an assessment is based entirely on value. Â I have a more expensive house/condo than the guy down the street/hall, therefore somehow I use proportionately more of the streets/schools/libraries/police, etc, than he does? Â Whatevs. Â
Not saying home value shouldn't be part of it, but the only part?
TechnicalDisaster wrote:It's time for a City and County Merger into a single city. Save money by combining the municipalities. This would allow Omaha to stop the suburban sprawl beyond its borders. Combine the school districts into a single entity to reduce overlap in administrations. Combine the suburban SID Levy's into a single debt and make the fee dependent on how far away from the city center your subdivision is. Every 5-10 years you can adjust the scale.
Not that this would be a poor idea, but. Â If the problem is, 'the suburban sprawl beyond its borders' the solution should be eliminate the negative of sprawl, not expand the borders to accommodate it. Â
Its like saying that drunk driving is a problem, so solve it by upping the .08 so fewer would technically be drunk driving?
TechnicalDisaster wrote:It's time for a City and County Merger into a single city. Save money by combining the municipalities. This would allow Omaha to stop the suburban sprawl beyond its borders. Combine the school districts into a single entity to reduce overlap in administrations. Combine the suburban SID Levy's into a single debt and make the fee dependent on how far away from the city center your subdivision is. Every 5-10 years you can adjust the scale.
LOL. I remember you chewing my |expletive| out one time for suggesting something similar to this.
I was thinking more about this the other day, though. Why isn't one part of the property tax assessment a flat fee per dwelling, say $1000? I have never liked the idea that an assessment is based entirely on value. I have a more expensive house/condo than the guy down the street/hall, therefore somehow I use proportionately more of the streets/schools/libraries/police, etc, than he does? Whatevs.
Not saying home value shouldn't be part of it, but the only part?
Yes I know. Â My attitude has changed after the housing bubble busted, the economy tanked, and Omaha can't pay its bills. Suburbia had a good run, but it is time to pay the piper. Â I actually think a city/county merger could lower taxes for everyone...but that's if we can get rid of the entrenched stakeholders and make the needed changes.
"This is America. Â It is my God given right to be loudly opinionated on issues I am completely ignorant of."
TechnicalDisaster wrote: make the fee dependent on how far away from the city center your subdivision is.
Why? What if I work at an accounting firm at 144th & dodge? Am I not making the responsible decision by living at 144th & Blondo?
You get the tax rate if you live in an SID with an unpaid levy. Â When the levy is paid off, you pay what the rest of Omaha pays. Â You decide (as you do today) where you want to live and work, and how much you want to pay. Â This would allow Omaha to annex like gangbusters, but still require SID' to pay off their own debt. Â Since you're spreading the debt around to all SID's equally, some people might pay more, some might pay less.
"This is America. Â It is my God given right to be loudly opinionated on issues I am completely ignorant of."
TechnicalDisaster wrote:It's time for a City and County Merger into a single city. Save money by combining the municipalities. This would allow Omaha to stop the suburban sprawl beyond its borders. Combine the school districts into a single entity to reduce overlap in administrations. Combine the suburban SID Levy's into a single debt and make the fee dependent on how far away from the city center your subdivision is. Every 5-10 years you can adjust the scale.
Not that this would be a poor idea, but. If the problem is, 'the suburban sprawl beyond its borders' the solution should be eliminate the negative of sprawl, not expand the borders to accommodate it.
Its like saying that drunk driving is a problem, so solve it by upping the .08 so fewer would technically be drunk driving?
The merger isn't expanding Omaha's borders to accommodate growth, the merger expands Omaha's borders so they can control the growth. Â What happens on the other side of 180th and Pacific is none of Omaha's business.* Â The county has different standards for home construction and neighborhood amenities. Â Merge the two, and Omaha can make the rules.
*Omaha has a limited ability to collect fees and make rules in the 3 mile radius around the city, but the state legislature has recently put an end to that practice as of 2013.
"This is America. Â It is my God given right to be loudly opinionated on issues I am completely ignorant of."
I actually think a city/county merger could lower taxes for everyone...
Absolutely it could (I said could, not would). As would one city, one school district. But like you said, good luck getting that past the people that are coming out on the good side of it.
Why? What if I work at an accounting firm at 144th & dodge? Am I not making the responsible decision by living at 144th & Blondo?
I think when I initially proposed the hypothetical a couple years ago I said don't change the way property is assessed unless it is built new or changes ownership. It would literally take a generation or two before all properties changed hands and were on the new system, but it would certainly steer development in the meantime. I think the overall effect on home values away from the city center would actually be positive, as it would essentially limit the likelihood of building more. And unless/until we do something about multiple school districts, there's ALWAYS going to be demand for the far flung 'burbs and their separate school coffers.
Omaha has a limited ability to collect fees and make rules in the 3 mile radius around the city, but the state legislature has recently put an end to that practice as of 2013.
Frankly, I think it is about time to see if Iowa wants a new largest city. Can a city defect from it's state? (I'm only joking a little.)
