MOODY, Texas — The Moody City Council passed a controversial annexation in a 3-0 vote, adding 16 properties to the city limits.
City Administrator William Sterling said the city's rough estimate was it would add about $20,000 to the city's tax base, through taxes on the newly annexed properties.
But the people annexed into the city have a problem with the way the annexation was executed.
"We're trying to fight something that is unethical to us," Renee McNeely said. "The city makes all these promises that they're going to do this, they're going to fix up the town, but they have not held true to anything that they've said they were going to do."
Susan Allen agreed with McNeely, and said Moody hasn't followed through on its promises.
"They have not provided it to other sections that have been annexed," she said. "As a matter of fact, some people in that area were at the first hearing and said that."
Mayor Tina Eaton and Sterling said the properties in the annexed area receive city fire and police service, but do not pay city taxes. They added that many of those properties have been receiving such treatment for as long as 20 years.
"We felt like they needed to join the city in taking care of the city," Eaton said.
But because of what James Myers said happened to a previously annexed group of properties, he and others are weary of what's going to happen.
"Residents who were annexed in 2009 have said they've never received any of the infrastructure that was supposed to come when it was passed," Myers said.
Part of the reason for the fight was the passage of House Bill 347, which bans forced annexation in Texas. The bill passed in the state legislature and Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law May 24th, effective immediately.
However, Eaton and Sterling said the city was advised there was a provision allowing already-in-motion annexations to move forward, and the current annexation was first presented to council in October 2018, according to Sterling.
Myers said their fight is far from over.
"We'll probably take this to litigation," he said.
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