Manchester Loses Its Annexation Bid
Date Posted: November 20, 2023
Posted In: Discussion, News, People, Regionalism,
From West Newsmagazine: The residents of Manchester and those in a two-square-mile area of unincorporated St. Louis County voted Nov. 7 on whether or not to allow the city to annex that portion of the county.
A simple majority vote was required by both groups of residents. But while 79% of voters in Manchester were in favor of the annexation, 78% of county voters were not. Thus, the annexation effort failed.
“This is a landslide vote of confidence for the St. Louis County Police Department,” St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page said. “Unincorporated residents get great services and enjoy low taxes.”
Police services were one of the benefits touted by the county executive who was vehemently opposed to the annexation.
With one lawsuit filed by the county and another lawsuit filed by a St. Louis County resident to try to suspend the vote, Manchester Mayor Mike Clement said he is glad the residents were able to make the decision on Nov. 7.
“I’m disappointed by the outcome,” Clement said. “This makes it clear that we will continue to be a city of 18,500 people instead of 25,000. The community I am mayor of overwhelmingly said this was a great idea. The residents in the annexation area didn’t feel the same. That’s OK. I felt it was important to let the voters decide, and they did.”