FAQs • Chelsea, AL • CivicEngage

If I annex my house, will I have to pay fire dues to the Chelsea Fire Department?: NO, because once you are in the city, the city does not charge for fire dues.

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Annexations

1. What is annexation?: Annexation is a process of a property located outside of a city limits moving into the city limits, allowing the city to include that property.

YES. There are two types of annexation:

The most frequent type of annexation the City of Chelsea uses is where the property owner petitions the city council and requests their property be moved/included within the city limits.
Annexation by election: This is where a city will seek interested property owners to sign a petition, to build an annexation map to identify the areas that are interested and want to be included in the annexation by election. Once the area is determined, and the petition is signed, the petition will be handed to the probate judge, whom will go through the legal process to set up an annexation by election. Each voter included in the map will be eligible to vote, for or against the annexation of the area.

3. If I annex my house into a city, will my address change?: NO. Your address will remain the same, as the zip code that is on your current mailing address, only indicates where your mail is delivered.

4. If I annex my house, will I have to pay fire dues to the Chelsea Fire Department?: NO, because once you are in the city, the city does not charge for fire dues.

Once your home is annexed into the city limits of Chelsea, you will be able to take advantage of the city garbage contract, which currently includes four bulk trash pickups, throughout the year.
You will receive your fire and EMS coverage from the Chelsea Fire Department, which does not charge fire dues.
You will receive additional police coverage from the City of Chelsea’s contract law enforcement agreement with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. Due to this contract, Chelsea has dedicated deputies within the Sheriff’s Department that patrol and respond to the City of Chelsea calls.

6. Will annexing into the city, increase my property tax?: At this time, the City of Chelsea does not have a property tax. An example of when the city may have a property tax would be the creation of a City School System.

7. If my neighborhood is a private gated neighborhood, Will the roads remain private and the gates remain up?: Yes, your neighborhood would be annexed in, as is, and would remain a private gated neighborhood with private roads.