The downside of the Bargersville annexation

A few month ago some near-by farmers approached Bargersville and said they wanted to become part of the town. They didn’t want anything to do with Greenwood they said. They were farmers, are farmers and want to remain farmers and not part of some “big city.” Bargersville agreed and all are now moving forward with the voluntary annexation process. Apparently Bargersville was “coming to the rescue” of the farmers, but is it really that simple?

This is all well and good for the town of Bargersville and most of the residents involved, but how does it impact the more than 40-thousand other residents of unincorporated White River Township (WRT)? Actually, it affects them quite negatively. At first glance the request seems rather benign, even “homey,” but if you look over a longer period of time you can see that it denies the rest of the citizens the opportunity to share in the tax revenues that will eventually be generated from the Whiteland Road/SR 144 corridor. Anyone who has lived in the area even for as little as five years, much less 75 years, can see that the population center of WRT is moving south. Over the next ten to 15 years, maybe sooner maybe later, essentially all of WRT will be urban. It only takes a developer laying a  big enough check in front of the land owner to out weigh “135 years of family history.” It may not be the current generation or even their children, but surely their grandchildren or great-grandchildren will be very tempted by some very large numbers when a large retail developer wants to put a new mall along SR 144 or another firm decides that now that SR 37 has become Interstate 69 this is the perfect location for their new corporate headquarters. Seven and eight-figure checks are very hard to resist, especially when you compare it to the uncertain income that is produced by any farm. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, property rights, along with the right to hold or sell property as one sees fit, is a fundamental right. But, let’s not confuse business with heritage.

What this means to the residents of WRT, whether they incorporate or merge with Greenwood, will be blocked from growing to the south. They will lose a significant portion of land with the highest probability of commercial development left in the township. In turn, the tax burden will fall more heavily on the home owners with fewer businesses contributing to the public coffers. Finally, perhaps the biggest benefit will go to the town to Bargersville. The value and the timing of the sales will not change regardless of what municipality these areas are in when the sales happen. But, the resulting taxes will either be shared with the more than 40-thousand residents of WRT or the few thousand residents of Bargersville. As with so many things in life if you “follow the money” you can gain a much better understanding of the motivations behind the decisions and actions being taken.

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