Chron, mayor agree Houston benefits from annexation deal
You'll recall that state Senator John Whitmire recently said, "Residents of The Woodlands enjoy the golden goose of Houston. They get the benefits of working here during the day and then going back to their comfortable, homogenous, bedroom communities at night."
In an editorial today, Mayor White acknowledges it's actually the other way around:
As Mayor Bill White told the Chronicle editorial board last week, The Woodlands is no longer a bedroom community. The master-planned development draws more workers than it sends out and is about to get its own law enforcement organization. For these and other reasons, the agreement to free The Woodlands from the threat of annexation by Houston is a benefit to both communities.
[snip]
Although Houston would give up new tax revenue, of the two entities, Houston might be the deal's greater beneficiary. The Woodlands is 27 miles from downtown. Houston would incur high costs were it required to provide parks, libraries and police and fire protection. In the first years, these costs would exceed any new tax revenue.
At the moment, Houston cannot hire and train enough police officers to replace retirees and keep pace with its own population growth. Annexing The Woodlands and its 80,000 residents would place a needless and perhaps intolerable strain on public safety. That was the case when Houston annexed the Kingwood subdivision in 1996.
Forgoing annexation of The Woodlands, Houston avoids costs and acquires up to $60 million for parks and mass transit benefiting the region.
Yes. Houston IS the greater beneficiary of this deal, but, again, it's still the best deal The Woodlands could hope to gain under current conditions.
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 12/17/06 04:05 PM | Print |
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