Wealthy Texas enclave steps up secession bid as feud with woke city leaders over crime crisis explodes

A wealthy Austin neighborhood has 'given the finger' to the state's capital and voted en masse to leave the city amid a spiraling crime crisis. 

Lost Creek, a rich enclave in the west side of Austin, saw an overwhelming majority of 91 percent of residents vote to break away from the city during a May 4 election. 

Many never wanted to be part of City of Austin to begin with when it was annexed nine years ago in 2015.

But as Democrat-run Texas capital faces a public safety crisis - with a shortfall of nearly 500 police officers - tempers have reached boiling point and many residents believe they'd be better off on their own. 

'What an FU to the Mayor and Council of Austin,' tweeted local retired judge and attorney Bill Aleshire on election night.

And Lost Creek is not alone, with two other neighborhoods also voting to leave the city this month. 

Lost Creek, a rich enclave in the west side of Austin, voted with a whooping 91 percent to break away from Austin during a May 4 election 

Lost Creek was annexed by the City of Austin in 2015 but now residents have 

Reaction poured in on social media to Lost Creek residents voting to leave Austin by 91%

Leslie Odom, a longtime resident of the community, told KVUE that when she chose to buy her home in the area more than 13 years ago before it was absorbed into Austin 'because [she] wanted a safe place to live'

Austin became the poster child for America's thriving Sunbelt during the pandemic, with property prices soaring. It is now the fifth most expensive metro area in the US.

But residents are increasingly concerned about soaring crime. 

Leslie Odom, who has lived in Lost Creek for 13 years, told KVUE: 'When I chose to buy my property and to live in this area it's because I wanted a safe place'.

But now she explained: 'Break-ins are normal. Car break-ins are normal. People are showing up in garages. Sometimes it feels like a powder keg waiting to blow.'

When Lost Creek became a part of Austin in 2015, residents who owned multi-million dollar homes became City of Austin taxpayers.

But the public services those taxes pay for are stretched increasingly thin - especially when it comes to cops. 

The city is understaffed by 483 officers after the former mayor and city council went to war with the police in 2020, slashing the department's budget by a third. 

It was later forced to give back the money due to a state law that penalized municipalities that defunded police. 

A map of homes for sales in Lost Creek shows houses the prices of houses in the area, according to Zillow

Odom and others like this resident who's lived in Lost Creek for the past nine years said this safe place is no longer, citing how break-ins and burglaries are now the norm 

A local who has also lived there nine years cited this sad state as why the tight-knit town has elected to break away from the city of Austin, which it has been a part of since 2015

This meant residents are supposed to get all the same civic services allocated to the nearby city - something this 30-plus-year resident said isn't the case. He and others in the area voted to break away from Austin on May 4

In the interim, the city - Known for its multi-million dollar homes and sweeping views of Texas Hill Country, -is stuck with an understaffed police force, after the former mayor and city council went to war with the police in 2020 and slashed the department's budget by a third 

Austin's anti-cop policies are vastly different from the rest of the state, which takes pride in being pro-law enforcement.

Those policies have led to dozens of officers retiring early or fleeing to other police departments. 

The cop vacancies mean there simply aren't enough officers to respond to 911 calls. 

Any call that isn't considered a life or death emergency is now rerouted to the non-emergency number 311. 

At one point, the current mayor asked Texas troopers to step in and help patrol the city for a few months last year while local cops could graduate a class of cadets. 

The partnership last for a few months before the city ended it in 2023.

Homeowners have resorted to hiring off-duty cops to patrol their neighborhood since the Austin Police Department is too understaffed to respond.

'If they were doing the job that they promised that they were going to do, we wouldn't be where we are,' resident Ryan Brennan told the outlet KVUE.

Austin currently faces a 483 officer shortfall, which has created a public safety crisis 

Residents of Lost Creek say they're paying twice for cops: city taxes for Austin cops who can't respond and then hiring off-duty cops to patrol their streets

'This is a huge problem for the City of Austin,' tweeted local content creator Jaime Hammonds. 

'Lost Creek residences basically just gave the finger to the city of Austin, the mayor and more importantly the councilwoman who represents the area. Wow.'

'Disannexing' from Austin means that Lost Creek will now get its police protection from the county sheriff, for which they are already paying taxes.

'I'm really jealous that they will have better management and would rather do it on their own than have anything to do with the city,' local public safety activist Cleo Petricek told DailyMail.com.

Residents of Lost Creek were able to vote to leave Austin due to a state law HB 3053.

The law requires the state's largest cities to allow some neighborhoods to vote on whether to leave the city limits, but only if they were annexed between March 3, 2015, and Dec. 1, 2017.

The vote will need to be ratified by the county elections department and Lost Creek will be obligated to pay any money they owe the City of Austin before residents can officially leave.

Meanwhile, other Austin areas could soon follow suit. 

Petricek said: 'Barton Creek this is another area that has been ignored and mismanaged by the city. The city council is not listening to the majority of Austinites that live here and are not receiving the services that we expect.' 

Two other neighborhoods also voted to quit the city in this month's election.

One is near Blue Goose Road in Northeast Austin and the second is near River Place in West Austin. 

City Hall declined to comment on this story.