Outlying Austin neighborhoods consider leaving city limits

Austin residents could vote to dis-annex

If you could vote to remove your neighborhood from the City of Austin, would you do it? Residents of some outlying areas have the change to do that

AUSTIN, Texas - Residents of some outlying areas of Austin will have the chance to vote on whether to remove themselves from city limits.

There are six "dis-annexation" propositions on the May 4 ballot, each for a different area on the edge of the City of Austin. The ballot measures were prompted by legislation passed in the Texas Legislature in 2023. Only residents of those respective neighborhoods will be able to vote on their corresponding proposition.

The areas are Lost Creek, Moreland Addition, Blue Goose Road, Lennar at Malone, Wildhorse/Webb Tract, and River Place Outparcels.

"We are our own little community, and I think that's how we should be treated," said Lost Creek resident Rachel Cole.

"I think most votes will be against, and we’ll remain in Austin," said Dave Kemper of Malone.

The big selling point for dis-annexation?

"We want to see the property taxes go down," said Joe Wempe of Lost Creek.

Dis-annexed areas would see their city property taxes phased out, once the neighborhood’s collective debt is paid. However, residents would still pay school property taxes.

In addition, the Travis County Sheriff’s Office would handle law enforcement instead of the Austin Police Department. The local Emergency Services District would handle fire response instead of Austin Fire. Austin Resource Recovery would also discontinue trash and other services.

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However, Austin-Travis County EMS would still respond. Austin Water and Austin Energy would still provide service, though residents would have to pay the higher "out-of-city rate" for power.

For residents in Lost Creek, emergency services are a big concern.

"Maybe we’ll have better police control here because we have seen more crime in the area," said resident Donna Wempe.

"As a mom of three kids, I want the best emergency response that I can get. So if I call 911, I want a quick response," said Rachel Cole.

We found that people in Lost Creek were overwhelmingly in favor of dis-annexation, while residents in Malone largely oppose it.

"To put it simply, I think home values, I think having an address in South Austin is valuable," said Dave Kemper of Malone.

Many in Malone question whether the potential savings are really worth it.

"Not to disparage the county, but it's not broken. So why would we fix it? Like the city has done a great job with our trash," said Malone. "So I don't know why we would roll the dice and disconnect ourselves and potentially have worse services."

These are six individual propositions, so it’s possible that some neighborhoods could approve dis-annexation and others reject it. Any changes approved by voters on Saturday would then have to be finalized by city council.