Opinion ID: 2218768
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Present Requirements for Fiscal Plans

Text: Municipal annexation is today governed by Indiana Code Ann. §§ 36-4-3-1 - XX-X-X-XX (West 1983 & Supp. 1991). The focus of this litigation has been on the interpretation of Ind. Code § 36-4-3-13(d) which states: The requirements of this subsection are met if the evidence establishes that the municipality has developed a written fiscal plan and has established a definite policy, by resolution of the legislative body, as of the date of passage of the annexation ordinance. The resolution must show: (1) the cost estimates of planned services to be furnished to the territory to be annexed; (2) the method or methods of financing the planned services; (3) the plan for the organization and extension of services; (4) that the planned services of a non-capital nature, including police protection, fire protection, street and road maintenance, and other noncapital services normally provided within the corporate boundaries, will be provided to the annexed territory within one (1) year after the effective date of annexation, and that they will be provided in a manner equivalent in standard and scope to those noncapital services provided to areas within the corporate boundaries that have similar topography, pattern of land use, and population density; (5) that services of a capital nature, including street construction, street lighting, sewer facilities, water facilities, and storm water drainage facilities, will be provided to the annexed territory within three (3) years after the effective date of the annexation, in the same manner as those services are provided to areas within the corporate boundaries that have similar topography, patterns of land use, and population density, and in the same manner consistent with federal, state, and local laws, procedures, and planning criteria; (6) the plan for hiring the employees of other governmental entities whose jobs will be eliminated by the proposed annexation, although the municipality is not required to hire any employees. This controversy centers around the language in subsections (d)(4) and (5) requiring that services provided to the annexed area be like services provided to areas within the corporate boundaries that have similar topography, patterns of land use, and population density. Ind. Code § 36-4-3-13(d)(4),(5). Plainly, the statute requires the city to spell out what services it plans to provide to the annexed area. The issue is whether the comparisons between the annexed area and areas of the city with similar topography, patterns of land use, and population density must be set out in the plan and resolution [4] , or whether it is sufficient to prove at trial that such comparisons were made. The city argues that the statute requires only that it set out a definitive policy to provide equivalent services and that the comparisons may be shown at trial. The remonstrators argue that such an interpretation would permit a resolution to be found sufficient if it merely recites the statutory language. We assess the legislature's requirement of a written fiscal plan as having three purposes. First, the publication of a written plan permits landowners to make an intelligent decision about whether to accept annexation or remonstrate. Second, requiring a written plan makes the opportunity for remonstrance and judicial review more realistic. As a practical matter, more than vague promises are needed for a court to test a city's ability to provide like services to the annexed territory. Third, a fiscal plan needs to be in writing to protect the right of landowners to institute proceedings to force an annexing city to provide the services promised under the plan. Sedlak v. Town of St. John (1980), Ind. App., 403 N.E.2d 1126. [5] If a written plan were not required, a landowner could be faced with attempting to establish the failure of a plan whose existence he might be incapable of proving in the first place. Id. Therefore, the plan must be sufficiently specific to enable the landowners to determine whether the services promised have been provided. Cf. Harris v. City of Muncie, 163 Ind. App. 522, 325 N.E.2d 208. The main concern of Ind. Code § 36-4-3-13(d)(4) and (5) is ensuring that services provided to the annexed territory are equivalent to services existing in the city. The qualification in (d)(4) and (5), that services be equivalent to those in the city with similar topography, patterns of land use, and population density, provides a guide-post for cities in determining what services should be provided to the annexed territory. It would be unreasonable to require the city to provide services to the annexed territory that are not needed because of differences in topography, patterns of land use, and population density. For example, storm drains may be provided in neighborhoods which are very flat and have no natural drainage; such drains are not often provided in areas where the topography provides natural drainage. The idea is to provide like services to like areas. Remonstrators are correct in that the plan must be more than a mere recital of the statutory language. We do not think, however, that comparisons between the city's topography, patterns of land use, and population density and those of the annexed territory need be set out in the plan itself. Such comparisons would do little to advance the ability of landowners to enforce their rights to services under the plan. In addition, the comparisons are most helpful to the evaluation of whether the services promised to the annexed territory are equivalent to services provided in the city, a determination the trial court must make at the remonstrance hearing. The statutes do call upon the trial court to determine whether the city's written resolution and plan are according to statute, but they also tell the court to enter judgment on the question of the annexation according to the evidence which either party may introduce. Ind. Code § 36-4-3-12(a)(2) (West Supp. 1991). Evidence that topography, land use, and population density comparisons were made when the city decided what services to provide to the annexed territory is a proper part of that evidence. [6] The trial court felt itself constrained by Drake, 543 N.E.2d 1145, to require that comparisons based on topography, land use, and population density be set out in the plan itself. Drake appeared to hold that evidence on this point should be ignored. There would be no need for an evidentiary hearing, however, if all proof of a city's ability to provide like services had to be set out in the written plan. We cannot read legislative intent as requiring the courts to ignore the evidence adduced at the hearing. See Ind. Code Ann. § 36-4-3-12(a)(2) (West Supp. 1991). The decision in Drake seems to so require, and it is hereby disapproved.