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The Woodlands Tallies Cost Of Future Governance


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Woodlands tallies costs of future governance

Estimates set for homeowners with incorporation or special district

By BETH KUHLES

Chronicle Correspondent

The Woodlands has established estimates on costs for the average homeowner if The Woodlands becomes its own city or creates a management district to take over municipal services.

According to preliminary estimates from the Governance Steering Committee, the cost would vary only about $200 a year from the present rates paid on a home valued at $250,000. A special district, which could rely on property and sales taxes, may reduce the cost of fees, while incorporation slightly increases the fees paid to community.

"From the first review and the first run, the cost of incorporation is going to be higher than a special district," said Bruce Tough, co-chairman of the Governance Steering Committee, which represents 11 key groups in the community.

The Governance Steering Committee released preliminary data from a new fiscal model designed to measure the financial impact of changing the future form of governance in the community.

After a seven-year study, The Woodlands is in the final stage of selecting incorporation as a city, creating a public service district

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  • 1 month later...

Residents call for incorporation as a city

By: TIFFANY WILLIAMS, Villager staff

09/27/2006

Residents who attended the Community Governance Forum Saturday morning ultimately favored incorporation as a city over creating a public service district to fill the municipal roles of a city.

Many, however, said a PSD could serve as a viable interim solution for the master-planned community until The Woodlands receives approval from Houston to incorporate.

The majority of The Woodlands exists in Houston's extraterritorial jurisdiction, which gives the city the power to annex after a moratorium agreement expires in 2011.

full story

are any haifers knowledgable on what kingwood did or didn't do before they were annexed?

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Residents call for incorporation as a city

are any haifers knowledgable on what kingwood did or didn't do before they were annexed?

I only recall the big fight with Houston all the way to the Texas Supreme court. Then the terrible transition to the city, like with 911 services. I would like to see the a current state and compare that with our current state and their previous state. Fighting Houston is certainly not the right answer. Legislative action was attempted I believe, with no results.

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I think waiting until the last minute is what caught up with Kingwood. Then crunch time came along and they could not get there ducks in a row. They should move forward post haste with the incorporation process, they can always tweak it later to fit any custom conformity's they have in question. If they wait until the last minute the annexation monster will surely eat them up. And you can believe it will happen, they are foaming at the mouth to annex them already, and if there was any way around they 2011 deadline, to move it up in any way, it would already be happening. Listen up Woodlands, you snooze you lose.

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Sept. 27, 2006, 10:54AM

Woodlands governance group holding more forums

Meetings will offer leadership chance to settle on choice for new government

By BETH KUHLES

Chronicle Correspondent

Major community groups in The Woodlands will get one last chance to offer ideas on the governance process before an action plan is drafted on how to implement a new choice of government in the community.

The Stakeholders Group, which includes the 11 community groups represented in the Governance Steering Committee, will have a forum Oct. 14 to debate the future of The Woodlands, including the options of incorporation as a city or the creation of a special service district to handle municipal-type services.

Full Story

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As Houston sets its sights northward, residents of the master-planned community are starting to weigh their options

''It's not enough to say we don't want to be annexed," said Jeff Long, a director of The Woodlands Community Association. ''Other areas have tried, and it didn't work."

The "others" to which Long refers are Clear Lake and Kingwood, which in 1977 and 1996, respectively, fought hard to maintain their independence but ended up being annexed by Houston without a vote

It would be nice for Houston to add the Woodlands but if we don't No prob, a lot of people already see them as our friendly city to the north.

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Mitchell, who still keeps close tabs on The Woodlands, said he thinks the discussions about future governance are healthy for the community.

He said it is possible for residents and Houston to work out a mutually beneficial agreement.

But people, he said, need to understand how important Houston and The Woodlands are to each other.

Without Houston's strengths

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my biggest concern is relinquishing protection of greenspaces and other quality of life issues. i'm not sure what houston's responsibilities would be, if any, regarding maintenance. i'm not sure greenspace would be relinquished. how could houston benefit the woodlands? would we have to pay traffic tickets downtown?

everything i need to do, as far as community services/paying bills is/are less than a mile away. if houston annexes would there then be things i have to accomplish downtown? i don't know.

Certainly it would be a matter of agreement. We do have a county annex office here. Why not a city annex office? In my estimation, being annexed would not be such a bad thing. However, I will support the commuity if it wishes to take such an action as incorporation. So far, I believe the community wants not to be annexed.

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The main problem with the woodlands is the fact that theyeopl can't really get to agree as to what taxes and such should be or what they should be.

They're also trying to withhold on paying additional taxes for if they SHOULD incorporate into the city.

While the amenities offered the woodlands is terrific as a bedroom community compared to others in the region, they are sorely lacking in services that a city offers. With crime being in the spotlight as of late is a sign of things to come.

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The main problem with the woodlands is the fact that theyeopl can't really get to agree as to what taxes and such should be or what they should be.

They're also trying to withhold on paying additional taxes for if they SHOULD incorporate into the city.

While the amenities offered the woodlands is terrific as a bedroom community compared to others in the region, they are sorely lacking in services that a city offers. With crime being in the spotlight as of late is a sign of things to come.

the woodlands is not a "bedroom community". bedroom communities do not have 40,000 jobs and world headquarters of major industries.

the crime in the spotlight in the woodlands is non-violent crime, the majority of which is from bored teens.

how is the woodlands "withholding" on paying taxes. can you name the taxes we are not paying?

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Mark, you are so right about tweeking. We have to be careful not to over design our future. Get it somewhat right but get it as right as can be in the time alloted. Then tweek.

In regard to taxing, I heard the people generally say that cost was not a problem. The issue I saw was the lack of lower income families. They had to work on Saturday. Bad timing for many people who we need represented there. Statistics shown at the forum tried to convey a good mix, but I saw nothing about income levels of those attending. Who has time to go on a Saturday morning anyway? I am very uncomfortable with the representation at those meetings.

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