[iamjacobm]

Originally Posted by Zonie5

i have been gone from Omaha since 1993 and have no idea how much Omaha has expanded . just an idle thought has nesstled in my pea brain . what would happen in the city of Omaha filled the whole area of Douglas county . would Douglas county disappear from existance and be called Omaha county .

There are some talks(small talks) that eventually that may be the case. If Omaha=Douglas County they could consolidate services under one umbrella and in theory save money.

I don't want it to get that far though. Hopefully Omaha will never sprawl out enough to make county-city consolidation an issue.

[ckhthankgod]

Hey, if Louisville, Jacksonville, Augusta GA, Denver, Broomfield CO, San Francisco and some of the cities in the Tidewater area of Virginia can do it, then why not have Omaha and Douglas County become one entity? There are others like Indianapolis and Nashville are essentially there as well. You also have cities like Columbus OH and Oklahoma City that are in multiple counties. So, that idea isn't new either.

[Huckleberry3911948]

annexing is fine but then using it to justify manager salary boosts and still continue to provide 2nd rate city services is not good.

[iamjacobm]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Hey, if Louisville, Jacksonville, Augusta GA, Denver, Broomfield CO, San Francisco and some of the cities in the Tidewater area of Virginia can do it, then why not have Omaha and Douglas County become one entity? There are others like Indianapolis and Nashville are essentially there as well. You also have cities like Columbus OH and Oklahoma City that are in multiple counties. So, that idea isn't new either.

I assume those cities are entirely developed throughout their counties. Douglas looks maybe 50% developed.

[iamjacobm]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

annexing is fine but then using it to justify manager salary boosts and still continue to provide 2nd rate city services is not good.

It isn't IMO.

As I explained on page one Omaha uses SIDs for these neighborhoods. When the developer first went to build them the city paid for the roads and sewers and the developer just paid the construction costs. Once the debts are paid off and the neighborhoods establish themselves the city then comes an annexes them. To recoup their investment and hopefully increase revenue.

These residents will actually pay less in taxes on average than they did before.

[Raphael07]

Originally Posted by iamjacobm

I assume those cities are entirely developed throughout their counties. Douglas looks maybe 50% developed.

Not at all with a lot of them actually. Some just did it for... who knows why actually.

[iamjacobm]

Originally Posted by Raphael07

Not at all with a lot of them actually. Some just did it for... who knows why actually.

I was completely guessing honestly.

I don't see a huge benefit of having loads of farm land added to our cities responsibility with a reasonable tax base joining.

That much land for only ~100K more people.

If the county was annexed Omaha's density would drop from 3370 ppsm to 1400 ppsm.

Our taxes would get stretched pretty thin.

[Raphael07]

Originally Posted by iamjacobm

I was completely guessing honestly.

I don't see a huge benefit of having loads of farm land added to our cities responsibility with a reasonable tax base joining.

That much land for only ~100K more people.

If the county was annexed Omaha's density would drop from 3370 ppsm to 1400 ppsm.

Our taxes would get stretched pretty thin.

Exactly. City county mergers can really hurt cities if done improperly.

[Zonie5]

way back when i was 17 years old (1957) i enlisted in Army . i was gone for three years and upon my return i was astounded to see a brand new shopping mall at what used to be a cow pasture on 72nd & Dodge . from what i have read here it sounds as if that mall will be razed down . if so , what are the planss for tha property ?

[iamjacobm]

Originally Posted by Zonie5

way back when i was 17 years old (1957) i enlisted in Army . i was gone for three years and upon my return i was astounded to see a brand new shopping mall at what used to be a cow pasture on 72nd & Dodge . from what i have read here it sounds as if that mall will be razed down . if so , what are the planss for tha property ?

We don't know tons of specifics yet.

All these things I have heard, but not really announced.

REI, Nordstrom's and Macy's as the anchors.
New city library branch in the middle of the development.
500 apartments atop the former Dillard's building.
New transit center.
And more new to market retail.

Basically they want to be a destination above the other malls, if this place has stores no other mall in the city does it will be a regional draw.