Fact Check - Annexation
To Clarify - A 2021 Goal Is Not a Permanent Policy
After the October 1st candidate forum, there seemed to be confusion about the City's former goal of annexing six parcels per year.
So let's clear that misinformation up too.
Yes, six parcels per year appeared in the City's 2021 Commission Priorities.
I have never suggested otherwise.
But there is an important distinction between a Commission priority for a particular year and a permanent City ordinance or policy. Commission priorities change yearly.
Every year, the Paducah Board of Commissioners goes through a strategic planning process and adopts a new priorities list for that year.
The 2021 Commission selected 12 priorities. One was Annexation/Planned Growth.
The detailed 2021 priority document included the objective:
“Annex a minimum of 6 parcels of property into the city on an annual basis.”
That language is in the record.
But here's what is being left out of the discussion:
The six-parcel goal was not carried forward into the 2022 Commission Priorities.
The county expressed concern about that priority and the city adjusted. On March 22, 2022, the Board formally adopted its new priorities for 2022 after reviewing the previous year's priorities.
There were ten:
911 Radio/Tower Upgrades and Operational Funding
Minority Inclusion
Downtown
Southside Enhancements
Housing
Beautification
Community Growth
Trails and Bike Paths Enhancements
Operational Efficiencies
Protecting Key Historical and Cultural Resources
Annexing six parcels per year was not one of them.
It was not carried forward as a Continuous Improvement Item either.
In other words, the six-parcel target was a 2021 Commission goal and it was eliminated.
It did not remain an annual Commission priority simply because it once appeared on a City webpage or in an archived strategic planning document.
What About the 2022 Annexation Ordinance?
This is another important distinction.
In January 2022, the City Commission did adopt an annexation incentive ordinance.
But that ordinance did not require the City to annex six properties per year.
In fact, the City's official description says the incentives were created to:
“advance the conversation of voluntary annexations.”
The City describes the process as consensual annexation.
The incentives can include property-tax rebates, sanitation incentives and assistance with certain closing costs when a property owner voluntarily agrees to annexation.
The six-parcel goal is not a requirement of that ordinance.
What Is the City's Position Today?
The City's more recent priority language makes the approach even clearer.
The 2025–26 Commission Priority under Growth states:
“Focus on selective annexation where appropriate and when deemed fiscally sensible.”
There is no six-property quota.
There is no requirement that six properties be annexed each year.
And recent City Commission actions continue to describe annexations as consensual annexations, including properties whose owners have requested to come into the City.
That is a very different statement from suggesting that Paducah currently has a standing policy requiring the City to annex at least six properties every year.
The Timeline Matters
Political campaigns can turn complicated issues into simple talking points.
Public records provide something better: context.
On annexation, the record shows that six parcels per year was included in the City's 2021 Commission priorities. It was not carried forward when a new set of Commission priorities was adopted in March 2022, and it is not a requirement contained in the City's annexation incentive ordinance. Today's policy focuses on selective, fiscally sensible and consensual annexation. The number of annexations in my 6 years as Mayor has been minimal and all have been consensual.
The information I am providing is not opinions. They are dates, votes, ordinances and public records.
I believe voters deserve the correct information and complete timeline - not one line pulled from an old document without explaining what happened before it or after it.
That's why I'm putting the record out there and encouraging people to read it for themselves.
Proof Sources
March 9, 2021: Annexation/Planned Growth was one of the Commission's 12 adopted 2021 priorities.
https://www.paducahky.gov/news/city-commission-meeting-highlights-march-9-2021October 2021 priority report: This is particularly useful because it contains the actual “minimum of 6 parcels” language.
https://tubes-odoi.paducahky.gov/files/Commission-Priorities-UPDATE-2021-10.pdfJanuary 11, 2022: The annexation incentive ordinance explicitly describes its purpose as advancing voluntary annexations and calls the process consensual annexation.
https://ns3.paducahky.gov/departments/community-development/annexation-policyMarch 22, 2022: The Commission adopted its new 2022 priorities. Annexation and the six-parcel target are absent. The City says the Board reviewed the 2021 priorities before selecting the new ten priorities and three continuing items.
https://paducahky.gov/news/city-commission-meeting-highlights-march-22-20222025–26: The current approach says to focus on “selective annexation where appropriate and when deemed fiscally sensible.”
https://paducahky.gov/files/2025-2026-Paducah-City-Commission-Priorities-FINAL.pdf