FREEPORT — Nothing says happy holidays quite like an offer of free annexation.
A letter signed by Freeport Mayor Russ Barley has been sent to all property owners who are city water customers.
“If you agree for us to annex your property without any cost to you, please sign at the bottom of the enclosed letter and return the same,” it says.
Homeowners have until Dec. 31 to have their properties absorbed into the city without paying the standard $750 annexation fee, Barley said.
Barley said there has been “quite a bit of response” to his letter. “Mostly positive.”
Between 1,700 and 2,000 letters were mailed out, according to Freeport City Planner Latilda Hughes. Thus far, 36 residents have responded positively while one resident has rejected the offer.
While interested property owners will have to foot the bill to provide parcel identification numbers or legal descriptions of their properties, annexation does come with some benefits, Barley said.
Freeport residents get city voting privileges and fire protection, and the taxes they pay for fire protection will go down, Barley said.
Utility bills would drop from $13 to $9 a month and sewer rates would drop from $30 to $14 a month, he said.
New residents, of course, would be required to pay property taxes. Freeport’s millage rate is 4.73 percent, according to Walton County Tax Collector records.
The call to annex stemmed primarily from the city’s desire to create “more cohesive” borders, Barley said.
“It’s kind of erratic right now. We’ve got some houses in the city limits and others on the same street that are not,” he said.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.
