Questions and Answers on the proposed Island Annexation

COMPLIATION OF QUESTIONS PROVIDED BY CITIZENS REGARDING 

PROPOSED ISLAND ANNEXATION LAKEVIEW, OREGON – (PDF) 

March 2, 2026 

1. What is the immediate impact of an annexation of these properties into the Town of Lakeview? 

1. ANSWER.  All current uses will be grandfathered in, meaning that if the owner doesn’t sell their property or substantially changes the current use, everything will stay the same. 

2. ANSWER. Commercial and vacant property will be immediately brought into the Town.  Eighty-three (82) properties with homes on them will stay the same for the next three years until they are brought into the Town. 

3. ANSWER.  The rate per thousand for the Town is slightly higher than the county, so it will cost a little more for the property owner than is paid to the County.  For specific information on your property, please see County Assessor, Linda Hopper for this exact amount. 

2. Did the Town of Lakeview complete a financial analysis on the annexation? 

1. ANSWER. Yes, the Town completed both an analysis of the area and the projected revenue generated by this proposed annexation. 

1. There will be 82 properties that will not be immediately annexed into the town. 

2. The annexation will generate approximately $70,000- $75,000 for the next three years dependent upon exemptions and other individual conditions. 

3. Is this enough money to complete all the necessary improvements that the Town requires to bring all infrastructure into top condition? 

1. ANSWER.  No, the Town charges some of the lowest fees in the State of Oregon.  Because the people of Lakeview have refused to pay an adequate amount to service their town for the last fifty years, the Town will need state and federal funds to rebuild the ancient infrastructure of the Town, and it will take 10-15 years to complete the job. 

2. ANSWER.  If this annexation is approved, we would be able to add this contribution of the property taxes to our ability to fix our infrastructure, cover law enforcement contracts with the County, support our parks, improve our roads and improve our maintenance which citizens in this area are not paying for at any level.  The Town has provided these services to this area for many years without any support from these property owners. 

4. Will annexation reduce property values? 

1. ANSWER.  No, property values are set by the market conditions not annexation.  The long-range impact will be to increase property values because of the overall steady increase in value of developable property and the potential to divide property into home sites in higher density. 

5. We already pay for law enforcement through the County. 

1. ANSWER.  Technically that may be true to a limited extent, but the Sheriff’s office would not be able to provide this service at the level that they do now, because the Town pays for 2.5 positions in the Sheriff’s department.  Without this partnership it is possible that we would not have law enforcement specifically in Lakeview, as we do now.  We have a five-year agreement between the Town and County to try and restore full-time police service in Lakeview 24/7 in five years, with special focus on code enforcement, animal control and other specialized services.  

6. Is the county going to fix our roads before we are annexed into the Town? 

1. ANSWER.  No, the County is facing budget shortfalls and never has planned to fix the streets inside the Town.  Even though this area has been technically the County, it has received all its services from the Town like maintaining water and sewer lines.  The County is facing its own challenges, and this area was never prioritized over the rest of the County. 

7. Whose idea was this to annex this property into the Town? 

1. ANSWER. In July 2025, an interim Town Manager was brought into Town to try and help us take steps to avoid bankruptcy.  This required the Town Council to consider all options.  There were really three things the Town could do; raise revenue, reduce debt and look for where we could annex property into the town to help share this cost.  This area was considered and discussed in September in a regular Town Council meeting as the only immediate opportunity we had to annex property.  Since the Town was essentially providing the bulk of this infrastructure to this area of Town and we had the legal right to conduct this “island annexation”.   It was decided to pursue this path. 

8. How much is this annexation costing the Town of Lakeview. 

1. ANSWER.  It is estimated to cost the Town in contract fees for our Planner and Engineer to complete the specific feasibility work and describing the specific territory that is being proposed for annexation will cost between $5,000-$7,000. 

9.    Why annexation now? 

1. ANSWER.  The Town of Lakeview faces the real possibility that it could fail due to financial insolvency.  As an independent municipality we are responsible for the well being of this Town.  Without showing that we have taken the difficult steps to do everything we can to save this town we cannot expect that politically the federal and state government will help us unless we help ourselves.  This is one of the steps we have taken to make sure that we are doing all we can to save this town.  

10.  Are we asking the residents to be part of the town? 

1. ANSWER.  Yes, for all practical purposes you are part of the Town of Lakeview, surrounded by the city limits and paying your taxes to the County rather than the Town.  As people who receive our municipal services from water, sewer, snow removal and general maintenance to use of the pool, parks and city amenities it seemed only fair that you pay the same as your neighbors that surround you. Everyone should pay their fair share.   

11. The most common question was regarding your agricultural uses of open property. 

1. ANSWER.  These uses will not change unless you (the landowner) changes this use on your property.  If you have chickens, pigs, sheep, cattle, horses, etc. and you need to erect fencing, shelter, or other amenities to support the well-being of your livestock you will be able to do this under the annexation.  If this is part of a pre-existing use, you will be able to continue this use. 

This is a compilation of all the questions that we received.  We tried to provide complete answers to all your questions and hope that you can find the answers to your specific questions in this document.  Note these are only answers related to land-use matters, personal accusations and non-land-use questions are not included.