County Island Annexation

My most memorable project will always be the cost-benefit analysis I conducted for possible annexation of Wigwam Creek South. This a county island that sits at the northwest border of Avondale. Apparently, some of the residents in that neighborhood wanted to be annexed into the city in order for us to provide fire and police service. So, I was tasked with finding out how much it would cost the city to incorporate this neighborhood.

I had to work very closely with Finance, Planning, Engineering, Police, Fire, Economic Development, Water Resources, Sanitation, Streets, and the Clerk's office to retrieve all my information. At first, I couldn't get anyone to respond to my emails or phone calls. What can you expect? I had just started, nobody knew me, and they were busy with their own projects. I had to change my tactics. I began to visit each department and seek out the best person that could help and was willing to do so. This method helped me find those key people right away. Once I understood how each person could help me, I began to do as much of the research as I could on my own to help the process along. Most of the people I worked with appreciated this because I saved them from having to do it themselves. I liked it because I was learning about the annexation process, the operations that would need to be taken over, costs, maintenance, potential revenues, and anticipated expenditures.

In the end, what I discovered and recommended to the city manager was that it would not be beneficial for Avondale to annex this county island. Based on the cost to convert water and sewer over to the city would never be recouped because the development has already taken place. The city loses out on those development impact fees that would normally off-set this cost. Furthermore, the water and sewer service is held by a private company. This would mean that the city would have to purchase these accounts from the private company. That can get very expensive.

Unfortunately, the cost definitely outweighed the benefits!