In Texas, there has never been a community of our size that has ever been incorporated. There is no other form of municipal government available to us to start this journey. In order to incorporate, The Texas Constitution requires a General Law City, the most restrictive of any municipal government, to first be created. In the case of The Woodlands, the “HOW” is much more complex and risky. Unlike the questions of WHY and WHEN, there cannot be widely differing opinion as to the HOW, which is largely defined by state law and the Township’ enabling legislation.
Normally the decision by voters to incorporate is all about WHY, WHEN and then HOW? The “ HOW” is normally considered the least complex as the process is well-defined in the Local Government Code. These are areas where many will have opinions, often differing from one another. So why incorporate until we are forced to do so? If not threatened by annexation, what factors would justify the complexity and cost of becoming a city? Will the residents be willing to pay a higher tax rate to incorporate? For what additional services? Incorporation will deliver even fewer County services than we receive today but with no lower County taxes. We have a very efficient alternative form of government. Today, our unique “Township” form of government, technically a “Special District,” provides a broad range of essential services not provided by our County and does so at a relatively low cost.
A poorly thought out decision will put our community, as we know it today, at risk.
But the decision to incorporate is about more than simply “calling an election.” The decision to call an incorporation election should be viewed as a well thought out business decision, one that considers all the complexities, taxpayer risks and the cost of making such a decision. I am not opposed to incorporating sooner than the City of Houston requires (2057) if we do so for the right reason, do it smartly, with minimal risk, and at the lowest possible cost to the taxpayers.
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