Officials are crafting a boundary-adjustment proposal in Troutville that would approximately triple the tiny town's area.

If approved, the adjustment would make Troutville about the same size -- or potentially a bit bigger -- than Buchanan, which is Botetourt County's largest town at 2.4 square miles. Fincastle, the county seat, is less than a half-mile in area.

It is unclear how the prospective adjustment would affect Troutville's population, which is about 430 residents. Buchanan, in comparison, has about 1,200 residents and Fincastle has about 360.

The reason for Troutville's expansion is to tidy the town's outer limits, Mayor Bill Rader said.

"A lot of our boundary lines divide people's property," he said.

That has created some confusion, especially in one development of patio homes, where in some cases "half the house is in the county and half is in the town," Rader said.

But there's more to it than just cleaning up boundaries.

Annexed commercial parcels, for instance, would be subject to the town's business taxes if the adjustment were to be approved by the county board of supervisors and then a circuit court judge. That means the county could stand to lose tax revenue.

The town's boundaries would stretch south to Humbert and Kinzie roads and east to Mountain Pass Road, according to a proposal draft. The town currently spans less than a single square mile.

"If there are split parcels, a smaller boundary line adjustment would take care of it," said Ted McCormack of the Virginia Association of Counties. "But the town is probably looking for areas it could grow in the future."

McCormack said there are many reasons towns consider annexation: gaining additional population, increasing the clientele for public utilities and generating more tax revenue.

Adjusting Troutville's limits is not fueled by a hunger to generate more real estate or personal property tax revenue, Rader said. Troutville is one of three towns in Botetourt County, and Buchanan the only one that imposes a tax on real estate and personal property.

There always is the potential for Troutville Town Council to enact the taxes in the future, which likely would generate significant revenue for the town that runs on an annual budget of about $140,000. The funds are generated primarily by business license fees and sales taxes, Rader said.

The primary service the town offers is public water, which operates on a separate budget of about $200,000. The town also maintains a public park, and zoning matters are managed internally.

Kelly Kreyling, owner of Kelly's Real Deals Antiques on U.S. 11, said his business, which is located in the county, is served by Troutville water. He said becoming part of the town doesn't seem like a bad idea to him.

"I'm probably thumbs up about it right now as long as there are no hidden alligators," he said.

Several of the parcels identified in the proposed expansion are larger and undeveloped, Rader said.

"One of the things Botetourt County might be concerned about is how the town might let the undeveloped areas develop," McCormack said. "They might have plans that might be entirely different than the town."

This is not the first time Troutville has proposed a boundary adjustment. County Administrator Jerry Burgess said the town withdrew an earlier proposal, which would have extended the town's boundaries south to Exit 150 of Interstate 81.

Under the initial proposal the town would have taken significant tax revenue away from the county near the heavily developed and traveled intersection of U.S. 220 and U.S. 11.

Burgess said the board of supervisors may be more receptive to an updated proposal that does not stretch as far south.

"But until you see a formal proposal that is endorsed by the Troutville [Town] Council, it's hard to react to it," he said.

The other two Botetourt County towns have experienced mixed results in recent history when it came to boundary adjustment proposals.

Fincastle officials approached the supervisors in 2005 with a proposal that would have doubled the area of the town and raised the population from about 350 residents to more than 1,000. Three of five supervisors voted against the proposal, which killed it.

Buchanan fared better in 1989 when the supervisors granted its request for a boundary extension that enlarged the town by about 900 acres, or 1.4 square miles. The motive behind Buchanan's request to gain additional land was to allow for commercial and residential growth and to generate additional revenue from taxes.

Rader said he anticipates the proposal will be ready for the supervisors' consideration in about six months.

Staff researcher Belinda Harris contributed to this report.