ARANSAS COUNTY, Texas — Residents in Aransas County are fired up after the City of Aransas Pass announced plans to annex certain areas of the county.
According to neighbors in Aransas County, they never wanted to be part of the city, and they can't understand why Aransas Pass leaders are forcing them.
Aransas Pass city manager Gary Edwards said the City of Corpus Christi's interest in a part of land between Aransas Pass and Rockport got the ball rolling on their current annexation plan.
An ETJ is a section of land that is technically not city limits, but a city could eventually annex it for future growth.
Edwards said for Aransas Pass leaders annexing their ETJ is their way of trying to protect what is around their area, but residents are not buying it.
Residents said they are not in Corpus Christi ETJ so why does the city of Aransas Pass feel the need to save them.
"The tax increase the concerns that they aren't going to provide city utilities to them like they're supposed to like their service plan, which is a legitimate concern considering we do have areas in the city that still have not to receive city services," resident Melissa Esquivel said.
Edwards said annexation is always a battle and he understands neighbors concerns but said the city has already been discussing ideas.
"A service plan for areas that we anticipate. All this is proposed; none of this has happened yet. We anticipate annexing and how we can provide those services and what are going to be the funding sources for those services," Edwards said.
According to Esquivel, neighbors are also concerned about code enforcement. She said the area the city is looking at is low income and after suffering the devastation of Hurricane Harvey many people still have some clean-up to do.
Aransas County residents are worried once they are annexed the city will fine them.
Esquivel said if they can't afford to fix it, they can't afford to pay a ticket.
Currently, there are two phases of the annexation plan, but Edwards said phase two is not set in stone.
He said there will be public hearings for the current phase at City Hall on April 30 and May 1.