The Henderson City Council is expected to adopt the 2023-24 budget at its next regular meeting, a budget that uses federal ARPA dollars and the city’s fund balance to keep tax rates from going up to pay for all the services a municipality provides its residents.

But there’s something brewing in the General Assembly that has the attention of folks here in Henderson and in other cities across the state which also could affect future budgets.

Senate Bill 675 would, among other things, remove a city’s extra-territorial jurisdiction – ETJ, for short.

Council Member Garry Daeke was a guest on Thursday’s TownTalk, and he explained the concept of the ETJ, which is basically a 1.5 mile buffer around Henderson’s city limits.

“It’s a great planning tool,” he said, which allows for some oversight for particular uses of properties as well as for providing city infrastructure.

At its meeting on Monday, the Council unanimously approved a resolution to oppose the bill’s passage and Mayor Eddie Ellington is expected to sign a letter that will be sent to State Sen. Lisa Barnes asking her and her colleagues to oppose passage.

Following is an excerpt from the draft letter, sent by City Manager Terrell Blackmon:

“The use of extraterritorial planning and zoning serves to protect the property values of communities by regulating the types of uses that can be constructed in areas that transition from rural to urban in nature.  Further, the extraterritorial jurisdiction is vital to protect residents by regulating the establishment of incompatible uses adjacent to their residential neighborhoods.  Residents of extraterritorial areas are represented on the City’s Planning and Zoning Board of Adjustment by members appointed by the Vance County Board of Commissioners, thereby providing a voice in the future development of the extraterritorial areas. Elimination of extraterritorial areas in Vance County will result in residents of these areas having no voice in the development of properties immediately adjacent to their residences.”

“There’s a lot of growth coming our way in general,” Daeke said, and having an ETJ helps cities like Henderson manage growth so that everybody’s happy. That ETJ buffer provides extra real estate for prospective growth – growth that has an economic impact on the city and the county. Blackmon said the requests before the city now all are within the ETJ and not within the city limits.

Without getting too bogged down in the process, Daeke explained that new project proposals are presented to the city to determine how it fits with the city’s comprehensive plan.

Sometimes properties need to be re-zoned, and so the plan goes before a planning board for input and approval before coming back to the Council for a final yes or no.

Zoning boards of adjustment have ETJ representatives appointed by the county, and they have full voting power, not just for ETJ-related issues, but for city-related issues as well.

“The city needs growth,” Daeke said. Without it, residents can almost be assured of an increase in their tax rate to fund city services.

Blackmon told WIZS News that losing the ETJ would mean a developer or property owner could develop under county development standards, which are sometimes less stringent than the city’s standards and then seek annexation into the city.

“We would certainly welcome the opportunity to gain additional property tax revenue, but the concern would be whether or not the development to be annexed is compatible to our existing land use,” Blackmon stated.

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