CLAYTON 鈥 狐狸视频 County is suing to stop a question from appearing on November ballots asking if some unincorporated county residents should be annexed into the city of Manchester.
And in a separate lawsuit, a resident of unincorporated 狐狸视频 County is suing Manchester to stop the proposal.
The county filed suit Friday against the 狐狸视频 County Boundary Commission and its members. The commission is an independent 11-member panel set up by state statute to review impacts of proposed boundary changes.
Manchester asked the commission in May 2022 to add an unincorporated area of roughly 6,500 residents. Earlier this year, the commission approved putting the annexation question to a vote, set to appear on the Nov. 7 ballot.
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The county argued in its suit that the commission shouldn鈥檛 have approved the boundary change because of a provision in state law. The law says a boundary change must 鈥渂e in the best interest鈥 of the municipality and the unincorporated territory. The commission failed to consider how the plan would impact residents nearby, and on county residents as a whole, the county claimed.
County Executive Sam Page has opposed the plan, saying it would create 鈥渋slands鈥 of unincorporated areas that would be difficult to police. Page also said it could cost residents more in sales and property taxes.
Manchester Mayor Mike Clement has said those costs would be offset by a property tax rebate and savings in monthly trash pickup fees. He also said municipal government provides more accessibility and responsiveness, including from police.
Clement couldn鈥檛 immediately be reached for comment Friday.
In a separate lawsuit, a resident of unincorporated county whose house is inside the annexation area is also trying to stop the plan.
Sam Taha filed suit against Manchester earlier this week, claiming his property values would decrease if it were annexed into the city.
He also claimed Manchester didn鈥檛 prove the annexation needs to happen, and that it wouldn鈥檛 be able to provide sufficient policing.
Taha also claims Manchester violated his rights under Missouri鈥檚 open records law by asking him to pay nearly $40,000 for a request for public documents related to the annexation.