In This Issue
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Cover Story
How three cities are managing growth -
From Comptroller
Susan Combs - TEXpansion
- Good Deals for Local Government
Save with Texas CO-OP and TxSmartBuy.com. - Riding the Rails of Progress
Slowed economy doesn’t slow Levelland. - Partnering for Impact:
MDDs – the super Type B? - A Community that’s Changing the Code
Abilene works to make development easy, efficient - Simpler, Smarter, Faster
How BPI can help local governments - Bringing the Brightest Back Home
How small towns reverse brain drain - Building Seguin One Brick at a Time
How Seguin is attracting residents to fill jobs. - Texas Best for Business/Travel Survey
Web Exclusive
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Control in the ETJ
How cities, counties can simplify development
denotes expanded or Web-exclusive content.
Plant It. Tend It. Watch it Grow.
Economic development, growth management require regular review
As the fastest-growing state in the nation, Texas has become home to thousands of new residents in communities facing the challenges of serving an increasing population.
More residents likely means more income from property taxes and sales taxes, but it also means more outgoings. Roads are more heavily used, police and sheriffs departments get more calls, and building and development inspectors deal with more applications than when the population expanded at a slower rate.
Plant it – When communities like Moulton were founded decades and centuries ago, the opportunity for land, water or another resource was typically the reason for neighbors settling near one another. As populations grow, whether by single-digit percentages or even double or triple in just a few years, its important to look ahead – like the small town of Moulton (pop. 1,000), located between San Antonio and Houston, or Forney, outside Dallas, which has burgeoned to 14,000 residents during the past decade.
Tend it – Strategic planning has become a vital component of Forney’s local government operations, so businesses, services and properties are developed in the manner that residents prefer. Without careful thought and tough decisions, haphazard development can lead to hard-to-correct changes in how a community grows.
Zoning and development regulations, appropriate use of incentives and a plan for annexing or working with neighbors will help community leaders in Leander, home to many Austin commuters, prepare their city successfully so they can watch it grow.