June 2004

Mayor Keith Holliday of Greensboro showed himself as clearly aligned with the opposition to reform of NC Annexation Law. This should become an issue for him in his next election.
If you disagree with Mayor Holliday and would like to inform him of your position on changing the law;

Mayor Holliday may be reached at:
One Governmental Plaza
P.O. Box 3136
Greensboro, NC 27402-3136
(336) 373-2396

Apex Town Manager Bruce Radford also inserted himself into Kernersville's affairs by speaking in opposition to the Bill which would return "consent of the governed" to at least one area of North Carolina. If you would like to write to him and tell him how you feel about this, his email is: bradford@apexnc.org

NCLM Executive Director S. Ellis Hankins spoke at length in opposition. His speech to the Committee, as I heard it, painted a picture of financial and economic ruin for municipalities if NC Annexation Law was changed in any way. He heavily implied that the municipalities would lose their ability to annex if any Bills, statewide or local, asking for any change were to succeed. He stated that the success of any local Bill would set a "dangerous precedent".

As the citizen who spoke in favor pointed out, allowing a referendum for involuntary annexation would not put an end to annexation entirely or cause financial ruin to the municipalities. It would inspire municipalities to negotiate in a fair and respectful atmosphere instead of force and contention.

Perhaps Mr. Hankins needs to hear from citizens who disagree with the position that he is arguing for the municipalities.
Defend your right to live outside of a municipality!
Citizens of Municipalities who feel that the annexation laws need to allow a vote by those effected should let Mr. Hankins know that he is misrepresenting your position.
Email Mr. Hankins at: ehankins@nclm.org.

In the meeting:
Rep. Gillespie made the motion to approve the Bill without prejudice.
Rep.'s Decker, Blackwood, Culp, Gillespie, and Wood voted for approval.
Rep.'s Pate, Fisher, Jeffus, Jones, Luebke, Mitchell, and Parmon opposed the motion to approve without prejudice.
The Bill remains in Committee.
I will continue to track this Bill and the Fayetteville Bill, and keep readers posted on hearing dates. It's time to get serious about supporting the Legislators who are trying to get the Laws changed. Attending these hearings encourages our supporting Legislators.

Write to the Ways & Means Committee Members while the Legislators are still in session and respectfully tell them where you stand on changing the Annexation laws:
House Ways & Means Committee
Chairman Rep. Decker-Y
Chairman Rep. Pate-N
Members Rep. Blackwood-Y, Rep. Culp-Y, Rep. Fisher-N, Rep. Gillespie-Y, Rep. Goodwin-A, Rep. Harrell-A, Rep. Jeffus-N, Rep. Jones-N, Rep. Luebke-N, Rep. Mitchell-N, Rep. Parmon-N, Rep. Preston-A, Rep. Rhodes-A, Rep. Wood-Y

North Carolina Cities and Towns are spending OVER $3 MILLION of your TAX DOLLARS in part to Lobby State Legislators to keep NC Annexation Laws as they are!

Below is part of what occurred yesterday (Wednesday June 9th 2004) at the State Legislature:
The North Carolina Leagues of Municipalities (NCLM) www.nclm.org held a “Town Hall” day in Raleigh at the State Legislature to present its 2004 “Action Agenda”

Briefly, for those who are not aware, the NCLM is an association of Cities and Towns from across the state. This organization receives its funding of over $3 MILLION of YOUR TAX DOLLARS by way of dues paid each year by Cities and Towns that belong to it. Membership is said to be 530, some (but not many) of which are individuals.

Recently, I personally asked if NCLM was subject to public open records laws so I could verify information about the NCLM. (How many members, how much money they raise annually by dues paid out of tax dollars etc) The Executive Director, Mr. S. Ellis Hankins, told me, when I personally asked him about such records and if they were “open records” (he is an attorney by profession) that the NCLM took the stand that their records were not “public.” What this means simply is that even though they are funded with your tax dollars, we as the public cannot look at “the books” to find out how they spend our tax dollars. What we do know is the following:

Yesterday, the NCLM gathered City and Town officials (elected and non elected) to present to them an action agenda and to lobby the legislators about this agenda. (The NCLM employs full time lobbyists as well) In other words, the NCLM, (which states that it speaks for the “municipal” viewpoint) had a legislative LOBBYING DAY yesterday. Among the highest priority topics was the preservation of the current annexation laws. Please also note they warned Cities and Towns about our organization, www.StopNCAnnexation.com (well, in typical governmental fashion they could not get the information right in their literature and made us a .org instead of a .com web site which leads the Municipal leaders that try to use this web address to an error web site)

Ron Thoreson
Ron@StopNCAnnexation.com
(919) 303 2666
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Anti-Annexation Legislation: Local Bills that Would Harm Municipalities Statewide

The Issue:
Opponents of annexation are active and well organized. Some in Cary maintain a website, www.StopNCAnnexation.org They have written all legislators asking them to pledge to repeal the current municipal annexation laws and recently visited the Legislature to make their views known.

The General Assembly reviewed the state’s annexation laws thoroughly in 1998 and made a number of significant revisions. The league negotiated and agreed those 1998 changes.

The Legislation:
Two pending local bills would restrict annexation laws authority in particular municipalities—Fayetteville and Kernersville. While these are technically local bills, this is really legislation that will harm all municipalities statewide. Both bills would require voters in areas proposed for annexation to vote approval for annexation. If either of these bills were to pass, similar restrictions would soon be imposed on other cites and towns

SB 1126—Fayetteville Annexation Referendum would amend the city charter, adding a provision that annexations do not become effective unless voters in the area to be annexed approve

HB 1695—Kernersville Annexation Referendum would require a referendum on an annexation if 5 percent of the voters in a proposed area submitted a petition. The House Ways and Means Committee may discuss this bill at noon today. The Committee meets in Room 1228 of the Legislative Building

The Municipal Position:
We strongly oppose SB 1126 and HB1695, based on long-standing municipal policy on local annexation authority. Annexation authority allows a city or town to include on its boundaries more of the citizens and property it actually serves when the area becomes urban. Without annexation, municipal residents, with their tax dollars, subsidize the municipal services that non residents receive. These include streets, transportation, police, fire, EMS, parks, recreation, cultural, economic development and other services

What You Can Do Today:
Talk with your legislators about the importance of annexation authority to your town or city. Tell them these local bills are really legislation with statewide implications, and ask them to oppose the bills and any attempts this year or in the future to weaken local annexation authority

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The text of the League Bulletin:

"Another bad annexation bill"

"Last week we told you about SB 1126 - Fayetteville Annexation Referendum, legislation to strip the City of Fayetteville of its statutory annexation authority. This week saw another bad local bill introduced. HB 1695 – Kernersville Annexation Referenda, sponsored by Rep. Mike Decker, seeks to restore the pre-1959 annexation law by requiring a referendum on annexations in the Town of Kernersville upon petition of five percent of the voters in the annexation area. The League opposes attempts to limit local annexation authority, whether local or statewide. Local bills of this type set a bad precedent and encourage more attacks on annexation. Please continue to talk with your legislators at every opportunity about the importance of annexation authority to the strength and viability of your city or town. Let them know that you support the preservation of annexation authority for all municipalities, and cities and towns will stand in unity to oppose local bills that seek to divide and conquer."

Annexation foes make their case

On Tuesday of this week, (May 25, 2004) the Citizens for a Sound Economy and opponents of local annexation authority visited the General Assembly to make their case to legislators. In addition to opposing municipal annexation authority, the CSE members urged repeal of the stormwater utility fees some cities charge to partially offset the costs of stormwater management programs that are in many cases mandated by federal or state law. These groups are making themselves heard, so don’t be left out of the debate. Come to Town Hall Day for a show of municipal strength.