This text was obtained via automated optical character recognition.
It has not been edited and may therefore contain several errors.

---

COAST ECHO
THURSDA
Annex ? Bay wants Hwy. 603 to 1-10
Continued from Page 1A
vote, after council members expressed some mixed emotions over tackling the epic expansion move.
"111 he honest with you, I don t know how we?re going to finance it,? said Ward 2 council membei Jun Thriffiley III.
He cast the lone dissenting vote.
Both Seal and at-large council member Bill Taylor said they had struggled with the pros and cons of the annexation move.
Legal challenges could come from many fronts -Waveland will be cut off from a similar growth path, for instance.
And the city will be taking over police and fire protection services from the county sheriff?s department and volunteer fire departments if the annexation succeeds.
School district boundaries, and the services of existing water and sewer boards, will not be changed, the mayor said.
He told council that while
the inevitable fears and concerns will come forward, the long term benefits will long outweigh the negatives of the annexation.
?Some people will be tickled to death with it and some people will be very upset,? the mayor said.
The most immediate benefit residents of the unincorporated area will see, officials said, is the immediate drop in fire insurance rates for residents coming into the city
The new taxes that the city will levy. Favre said, will be more than offset by the fire insurance cost decrease.
The newly-annexed area also would see immediate imposition of city building codes taking effect. While Hancock County has a zoning ordinance in effect, there are no codes in place concerning the quality and standards lor construction.
City Attorney John Scafide said that, absent -iuch codes, no doubt some construction in the area has
been substandard. He added that the longer the delay in city annexation, the larger the headache that the city will inherit from an era of no-code construction.
Apparently, the consultants concluded it will cost Bay St. Louis the equivalent of over 8 mills taxation to provide services to the area at issue.
Favre said that number will change, based on normal tax base expansion inside and outside of the city limit prior to the effective date of annexation..
But, if Bay St. Louis doesn?t spread its city limits, it has virtually nowhere to accommodate commercial growth, he said. That, he added, will only mean increased property taxes in the existing town.
Last year,	the city
bumped property taxes from 5 mills to 10.5 mills. For the coming year,	the city
appears ready to hike that rate by another 5 or 6 mills.
Earlier this month, city
leaders were stunned by the announcement of the upcoming shutdown of Alcan Co. - the city s only big industry and a major property tax payer. The estimated loss to the city: $80,000 in property taxes and natural gas revenues, and 116 jobs.
Meanwhile, council is considering refinancing some of the $11 million in general obligation and revenue bonds issued in 1996 and 1997, hoping to reduce its debt service costs by some $150,000.
Another $2 million general obligation bond issue, to pay for a citywide street resurfacing program, is in the works.
Bay St. Louis? last annexation came more than a decade ago, as a prelude to development of what?s now Casino Magic and adjoining Cedar Point residential areas.
That annexation took place quickly with no protests filed in chancery court. It not only added a
major property tax base to the city, but it also led to the city?s collection of millions of dollars in gaming taxes.
The current annexation attempt is far more complex and potentially controversial.
Officials said it could be a two-year process if strong opposition and challenges develop.
Favre told the Sea Coast Echo he sees no reason for Hancock County to object to the annexation. The county would continue to receive the same property taxes from the area at issue, he said, and, will lose the expenses of servicing it.
And, he added, there?s no doubt the residents will be better off.
In addition to city police and fire protection, Bay St. Louis would provide planning and zoning, garbage and rash removal, animal control, street and drainage maintenance, code enforcement, parks and recreation services and the right to vote in municipal elections.
Doug Seal, anticipating controversy and challenges to the city?s move, as well as the potentially protracted and expensive court procedures ahead.
Full details of a major study leading up to Tuesday night?s decision were not immediately available publicly. But, officials said the annexation wTould:
?	Add 4,000 residents to the 8,200 citizens now in Bay St. Louis? boundaries.
?	Perhaps double the physical size of the city.
?	Double the 65-to-70 miles of streets and roadways in the city limits.
?	Require tax revenues equivalent to 8.2 mills to provide services to the new territory.
?	Require an additional one or two council members to be elected; and a citywide redistricting to shape new ward boundaries.
?	Dramatically lower fire
i &ay m. Louis
A base map prepared by the firm Bridge & Slaughter LLC, City, County and Regional Planning Consultants, detailing the area the city of Bay St. Louis is proposing to annex. The proposed annexation area includes vast territory between Hwy 603 the Jourdan River and west to 1-10.
Taylor	Farve
insurance costs for the annexed properties, without impacting rates within the existing city limits.
? Provide city building code enforcement not existing under Hancock County government in the unincorporated area.
Adoption of the annexation ordinance comes after a year of study and reports
Seal
from the consulting firm of Bridge & Slaughter. Numerous reports and briefings by that firm have been presented to City Council, but all in executive sessions, or behind closed 3oors.
That?s because annexation, under state law, always involves litigation.
The most recent closed
compretta	Thriffiley
discussion of annexation came after council?s Monday night workshop session.
The matter came up Tuesday night at the tail end of a long council proceeding, when Mayor Eddie Favre asked council s consideration of the ordinance. It passed in a four-to- one
ANNEX--PAGE 7A
'Some people will be tickled to death with (annexation plans) and some people will be very upset/
-- Mayor Eddie Favre