SA- America's 5th largest city? Could be.... (San Antonio, Anton: purchases, movies)

[L210]

The county will obviously be happy to have those densely-populated areas off of their hands. They don't have the infrastructure and funding to handle an urban county because the commissioners court is cheap. That's why they were short in the jail for a long time, and that's why their dispatchers keep leaving for higher pay elsewhere. Their response time for answering 911 calls used to be terrible. Bexar County just started its own animal control department. They were using San Antonio's for awhile. BCSO doesn't even pay its SWAT officers a monthly stipend. They don't even get paid when they are called out. They are responsible for paying for their own gas and using their own vehicles when responding in the county and surrounding counties that don't have a SWAT team.

[DerpyDerp]

Originally Posted by ged_782

A different provider for those services. Police, Fire/EMS, street/public infrastructure maintenance, waste collection, etc., will be provided by the City of San Antonio. The question is whether the response and quality of those services would be any better.

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the answer is no.

As for the streets, when the city offered to annex us voluntarily about 5 years ago, they said that we'd have to remove the gates at the entrances to the community, and from that date forward the city would maintain the streets; the neighborhood voted to keep the gates and say 'no' to annexation. As I understand it, this time the city will not maintain our roads, even if we remove the gates.

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by ged_782

A different provider for those services. Police, Fire/EMS, street/public infrastructure maintenance, waste collection, etc., will be provided by the City of San Antonio. The question is whether the response and quality of those services would be any better.

Originally Posted by DerpyDerp

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the answer is no.

As for the streets, when the city offered to annex us voluntarily about 5 years ago, they said that we'd have to remove the gates at the entrances to the community, and from that date forward the city would maintain the streets; the neighborhood voted to keep the gates and say 'no' to annexation. As I understand it, this time the city will not maintain our roads, even if we remove the gates.

It's not unusual for the streets in gated communities to be private, and maintained by the HOA. That's one of the reasons the gates are there, to minimize wear and tear by non-residents. You can remove the gates, but as you learned, it doesn't automatically mean the City (or County) is going to step up and take over the maintenance.

So, with private streets, you have one less reason to want annexation, as long as the HOA has sufficient funds to maintain those streets over the long haul.

[DerpyDerp]

Originally Posted by ged_782

So, with private streets, you have one less reason to want annexation, as long as the HOA has sufficient funds to maintain those streets over the long haul.

Unfortunately, we will have no choice in the matter.

[trill_hippy210]

Why are all these suburbanites complaining? Y'all want to live outside the city yet use its amenities & not have to pay for it? All I see is constant complaining. Y'all aren't going to be taxed til a few years afterwards anyways. This is another reason I want to live in the city/downtown, too many suburbanites whining about everything they dont have when they chose to live in the burbs smh

[Pancho-Villa]

Let's not forget, suburbanites contribute to the city's economy as well. They don't only "take".

[ShadoAngel]

Why are all these suburbanites complaining? Y'all want to live outside the city yet use its amenities & not have to pay for it?

Which amenities do unincorporated Bexar county residents take advantage of, yet not pay for? Do you have the same opinion of the citizens of the dozen tiny incorporated cities within San Antonio (Alamo Heights, Windcrest, Hollywood Park, etc.) that don't pay taxes to the City of San Antonio?

If anything, the City of San Antonio benefits by not annexing these neighborhoods. The vast majority of people living in those communities spend their money in the city and pay sales tax to the city without the city having to provide services to them. Considering most people commute on interstates and highways that are maintained by the state, I seriously doubt 'suburbanites' cost the city much of anything and they gain quite a bit of revenue.

[TXStrat]

Originally Posted by trill_hippy210

Why are all these suburbanites complaining? Y'all want to live outside the city yet use its amenities & not have to pay for it? All I see is constant complaining. Y'all aren't going to be taxed til a few years afterwards anyways. This is another reason I want to live in the city/downtown, too many suburbanites whining about everything they dont have when they chose to live in the burbs smh

What are you talking about? What amenities are you speaking of? I made a deliberate choice to live where I do because of the location, school district, and the fact that it's outside the city limits. I enjoy no amenities that I do not pay for. My property taxes pay for the emergency services that cover my area. I pay for my own trash service, CPS energy, and SAWS for water. As stated by others, I live in a community where the HOA maintains the roads. I get nothing from the city. Since you mention it, it is a little funny that it's actually the other way around. I pay the increased tax on my CPS energy bill for the Pre-K for SA program, but don't live inside the city limits, or have any representation on city council. In actual fact, I get taxed for services I do not receive.

[huckster]

Which city amenities you ask? Do unincorporated citizens use in San Antonio ? You people ain't tourists here. These are all amenities of big city living.
Banking, retail shops, eateries, freeways and city streets ( you can't stay on a freeway and arrive at work) and sewerage, the success of a thriving city economy for work and disposable incomes( yes you earn your money here).
Access to First rate medical facilities, hospitals (a biggie)and specialists, automobile dealerships and repair shops, City parks and recreation facilities , (SAWS?). If the city runs out of water , so do you, and it is running out of water. You are not exclusive in your residence and yes, all of the little bergs around town are drawing water from the well. This is a genuinely precarious circumstance we face here , more than you realize. Your water comes via hallowed city water pipes in city ground.
Soon you will not be getting away with it any more.

[Bo]

According to Nelson Wolff, the county government wants annexation much more than the city does ATM.

County pushing San Antonio to re-examine annexation policies - San Antonio Express-News