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Byron Harris reports.

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The population numbers in one north Texas town are not adding up and those numbers are at the center of a debate over expansion and development.

A classic battle of the old west may be shaping up around the town of Melissa, 30 miles north of Dallas on Central Expressway - a battle between ranchers, who cherish their wide open spaces, and city hall, which wants to provide services for subdivisions.

The city says its expanding population will need roads and sewer lines.

Ranchers say the city is overstating the population to help real estate developers.

There's not much in downtown Melissa, Texas.

Most of the people in this town live in subdivisions nearby.

Mayor David Dorman is an unabashed booster of growth.

"When a developer wants to develop a project here, my door is open - 100 per cent. My card has my cell phone number on it," he said.

But Pete Lovell's been told his ranch is in Melissa's crosshairs, for a major highway.

"It was supposed to be a six-lane road," he said.

David Kusin fears that his limestone creek will soon become a sewer line.

"You don't have to put in a pump station, you don't have to put in elevator stations. It's cheap and easy," he said.

And Janet Hull, who raises turtles on her spread, says the lifestyle of Melissa's oldest residents is doomed.

"We need to kick these developers out of here that are trying to sell out Melissa for their own personal gain," she said.

Size matters for Texas towns. Once they reach 5,000 they can declare home rule.

Home rule grants a town broader power over the land that borders it.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments said last year Melissa has just 3,900 people. Last summer, the mayor declared the town had 5,000 residents.

Who's right?

The fight may come down to water meters.

Melissa says there are 3.3 people living at the end of every water meter. So because there are three water meters at the football field, the city says there are more than ten people living here.

Another 3.3 people live at the post office, the city says.

3.3 live at the Sonic drive in, Melissa contends.

Down the road in McKinney they say just 2.6 people live at the end of every water meter.

Mayor Dorman says his town is different from McKinney.

"Most families have one to two children, that have flocked here," he said.

Melissa says there are 1,465 water meters in the city.

News 8 requested a list of all the meter holders in the city under the Texas Open Records Act.

Records show that many of meters are connected to houses that have never been lived in.

City records show water meters at these addresses. But where are they? There are no houses and no water meters.

The city says 250 water meters belong to people who want to remain anonymous. But some water meters are not connected to a house. Could they be connected to anonymous owners? The city won't tell us.

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Melissa has the right to unilaterally declare itself a city of 5,000, whether it has the proof or not, say officials.

James Smith started asking questions about water meters last fall. He says the city's numbers keep changing.

"Initially, when the city responded to me they told me 95 percent of the applicants requested confidentiality. Yet when I got that first list there were 783 names and addresses on there," he said, adding that he thinks they lied to him.

Although the mayor has said publicly the city has 5,000 residents, he told News 8, the population issue isn't decided yet.

"His position in the City of Melissa is a true conflict of interest with the development that's been going on," said Hull.

The mayor admits he owns real estate in Melissa. But he says he has recused himself from all city votes involving his property.

"I'm trying to make a living myself. However, I haven't made any money off the real estate in Melissa at this time," he said.

With the mortgage crisis, it's likely Melissa's population hasn't grown much, if at all.

But in the end, it may not matter.

State government officials tell us that Melissa has the right to unilaterally declare itself a city of 5,000, whether it has the proof or not.

E-mail bharris@wfaa.com.