County Supervisors Approve Council Bluffs Annexation

The Mills County Board Of Supervisors has formally approved a plan by the City Of Council Bluffs to annex property in northern Mills County.

The three-member board gave its blessing to the plan by unanimously passing a resolution at its regular meeting last Tuesday, April 22.   

The City of Council Bluffs’ desire to annex land in Mills County surfaced more than a year ago during discussions concerning economic development along Interstate 29.  In January 2025, Mark Norman, director of the Mills County Economic Development Foundation (MCEDF), told county supervisors the annexation would be required for the City of Council Bluffs to provide utility services for two projects being proposed along Interstate 29 in northwest Mills County. One of those projects is the $325 million Cattlemen’s Heritage beef processing facility proposed on a 132-acre site northwest of the I-29 – Highway 370 interchange. The other project is east of I-29 and south of the Mills – Pottawattamie County line.

The supervisors’ vote in favor of the annexation came after Council Bluffs amended an initial plan that called for the planned annexation to end at Bunge Ave. Under the city’s revised plan, the annexation will go to the center of Bunge Ave., likely resulting in Mills County and Council Bluffs sharing in the maintenance and policing of the road.

Mills County Supervisor Jack Sayers said a road-sharing agreement for Bunge Ave. should alleviate concerns of Mills County Engineer  Jacob Ferro and Sheriff Greg Schultz.

“This has been a long discussion for both Council Bluffs, Mills County and Pottawattamie County,” he said. “I think the annexation, knowing that the line will go down to the center line of Bunge Ave., will force Council Bluffs to have a road-sharing agreement with us for Bunge Ave.”

Supervisor Richard Crouch said he learned at recent Council Bluffs city council meeting that city code in Council Bluffs requires annexation to go to the center of a road.

“They have to go to the center of a road to annex.,” he said. “That was quite a relief to know that we wouldn’t have to bear this by ourselves.”

Sayers noted that technically under state law, the City of Council Bluffs doesn’t need the county’s approval to annex the property.

“They don’ need our approval, but to have some sort of agreement with the road just puts us on a path towards a good partnership for both entities, for both areas,” he said.

Sayers said if the proposed development comes to fruition, it could eventually lead to almost $1 million in added property tax revenue for the county.

“When we’re talking about a county that gets $14-$15 million worth of property taxes every year, that project will be tremendous for our county,” he said.