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Thank you for taking the time to visit this site to examine the factual documents and news/commentary to determine for yourself the truth behind incorporation. There are currently two incorporation (city) initiatives being proposed in High Ridge. One is sponsored by the group Citizens for the Future of High Ridge and the other is by the group Sugar Creek Hills Working to be a City Committee. The Citizens for the Future of High Ridge (CFHR) is asking you to vote to approve incorporation of the majority of the 63049 zip code. They offered two petitions for signature that have now been filed. Many people have told me of their experience with those offering petitions for signature. The common theme references dishonest tactics being used. One person said that when they looked at the petition being offered for signature, the petition was on a clipboard and the petition verbiage was completely covered by cards that had Mr. Haskins' (President of CFHR) name on them. The cards were carefully aligned and secured by the clip of the clipboard and would require the reader to open the clip to release the cards in order to move the cards to read the petition language. I suppose it was just accidental that the cards were carefully placed where the verbiage was. In addition when this person asked what the petitions were for, the response was that one of the petitions was "against the Sugar Creek Hills incorporation" and the other would put the High Ridge incorporation initiative on the ballot for a vote. Absolutely neither petition contains language that would keep Sugar Creek Hills from incorporating. Several people described their experience of being told that they needed to sign the petitions to keep Byrnes Mill from annexing them. The fact is that one of the petitions actually gives Byrnes Mill one year in which to act on the petition by requesting the county to place the initiative on the ballot asking the voters to extend the boundary to include most of the 63049 zip code. Others have been told that the city would be "free" . . . wouldn't cost anything. According to Nelson Weber's detailed 10 city analysis, there is not enough business revenue to support the 63049 zip code incorporation initiative. Many local businesses have closed and some areas have been declining. As a result, taxes would have to be imposed to fund all of the services the County now provides. As of August 21, 2007, a city budget was submitted along with the petition to the county commissioners by the Citizens for the Future of High Ridge and that information will be posted in the near future. Also on August 21, the Sugar Creek Hills Working to be a City Committee submitted their petition for incorporation to the county which included a vague "trust-me" budget. In my opinion and based on the deceptive practices observed, those pushing for incorporation are nothing more than want-to-be or hobby politicians and they are acting like it. We need to hold those accountable for the deceptive practices that we have observed. It is my understanding that those who lead the incorporation efforts are usually the people that will be initially appointed should the city incorporation pass and most likely will end up running for office in the proposed city. We need to remember this when the initiative comes up for a vote. If you feel you have been lied to or misled, use this as a learning experience. Always read and consider carefully any documents before you sign them. Above all, fight these incorporation attempts. Cities should be founded on truth and facts, not on deceit and misinformation . . . or because someone wants to become mayor. The Sugar Creek Hills initiative, on the other hand, is reportedly being initiated to attempt to prevent a developer from building homes at the lowest square footage per the approved development plan. As I understand it, all legal procedures have been exhausted to force the developer to build homes at the higher square footage and the courts sided with the developer. It seems very unlikely that a city could effect a change that the courts have already made a decision on. A city would certainly be able to make planning and zoning rules that would affect new or future development. Case in point, in 1987, certain members of the Byrnes Mill community convinced the residents of Byrnes Mill to sign petitions to request incorporation. This, we were told, was to prevent a developer from putting in a trailer park. Petitions were signed and the initiative came up for a vote and it passed. The city incorporated but was unsuccessful in stopping the developer from building the trailer park. I know, because I am one of the people who foolishly voted for the incorporation. The fact is, cities are very expensive to run and result in bureaucracy that is only limited by the imaginations of those in office. The added taxes and ordinances will be never ending. If you moved to High Ridge to get away from the confines of city life, then join with us in fighting these incorporation attempts. Let's pool our resources, print signs, get the word out to neighbors and show these hobby politicians the door! |
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