Residents unload on annexation: City officials say fears unfounded
Knowing it was an uphill battle, Searcy city officials hosted a meeting Tuesday night to try to explain their efforts to expand the city limits. Sure enough, about 150 people showed up, almost all of them opposed to the annexation effort, and most of them angry about it.
"We stand to lose much more than we have to gain," said Buddy Phillips, expressing the general sentiment of the crowd.
Mayor Belinda LaForce and Planning Commission Vice President Steve Jordan began the meeting by outlining the city's plans.
LaForce detailed how annexation would affect residents, what new taxes and fees would apply, and what new services would be available. Jordan explained how the proposed annexation area was delineated, and why.
"This is about having planned and orderly growth," he said. "The city won't make or lose money on this deal - this isn't about money."
But the affected residents remained skeptical.
"There has never been a city in the United States that did any annexation except for one reason, and that's money," said Bruce Raisley to large applause.
Objections ranged from financial concerns to the tenets of fundamentalist Christianity, including:
€ Utility indebtedness. Ed Thorton, president of the Gum Springs Volunteer Fire Department, said the company had recently built a new fire station through loans. The city's annexation plans, he said, threatened to remove 18 percent of the company's dues-paying members from its district.
"That would shift the burden of the new fire station construction onto the remaining members," he said.
Thorton said the company could legally continue to force the annexed residents to pay into the district, but that would be "patently unfair" because those residents would be receiving fire protection from the Searcy Fire Department.
Jordan said on Wednesday that the Gum Springs Fire Department issue is "a real concern," but that he expected it could be worked out.
Similar concerns were voiced about the water districts in the annexation area, which have considerable investments in water mains, as well as indebtedness. Clarence Buckner, general manager of Searcy Water, said Wednesday that after annexation, the independent water companies will continue to operate as they are now.
"We can't take their service area away from them, and we don't want to," he said.
€ Fees and taxes. LaForce's breakdown financial obligations on new residents included the city's eight mil property tax ($16 annually on a $100,000 house), a $12 monthly garbage fee and utility taxes ranging from three to four and one-half percent. These are, she said, "the most reasonable rates in the state of Arkansas."
But many begged to differ.
"We have our Southwest Water," said Blanca Lawson. "We have our Gum Springs Fire Department. We have garbage pick-up every week. We even have telephones. What we don't have is $12 a month on our water bill."
€ Inadequate city services. Many said they doubted the city could provide quality services.
"My mother-in-law lives in the city," said Regina Rhodes. "And you don't pick her trash up very adequately."
"You got holes in the road," said Wayne Stroup, who went on to name about a dozen city roads he said are full of potholes. "What the heck will we expect if there's a hole in the road?"
€ Distrust of city motives. Several speakers said the city had arbitrarily and unfairly drawn the annexation boundaries, and had otherwise treated the residents within the area shoddily.
"I hate to say this, Mr. Jordan," said Lawson. "But you're spinning pretty good up there."
"If you don't want to be in the city limits and you have enough money, you don't have to be," said Bill Barter. "That's what happened with the country club, and the Elk's Lodge was thrown in for good measure."
Barter was referring to a "hole" in the newly proposed city limits, leaving the Searcy Country Club completely surrounded by, yet outside, city jurisdiction. Jordan said later the country club was excluded to eliminate discussion of liquor licenses from the annexation debate.
Others, mistakenly believing that city officials are responsible for news content in The Daily Citizen, faulted LaForce and Jordan for contradicting themselves in news articles, and demanded that they "put this in the paper."
The Daily Citizen did incorrectly report that Tuesday's night meeting was to be held at the Carmichael Center, rather than the Lightle Center, but that fault was the paper's, not city officials'. The Daily Citizen wasn't informed of the mistake until it was too late to run a correction. The city redirected those who showed up at the wrong location, but several people blamed LaForce for the mistake.
€ An affront on Christian values. Reverend Todd Davis faulted city officials for having the "condescending arrogance of bureaucrats," and went on to say that the "city [believes it] is the savior, and the [annexation] committee believes it is John the Baptist." He called on city officials to "repent of their arrogance."
Mike Terrell said he was opposed to the annexation on principle, not particulars.
"These are the principles of the war for independence, and the second war for independence," he said. The first war for independence was against the British, he explained. In the second war of independence, he said, "the Union military invaded the South to gain territorial jurisdiction over ... those seeking to avoid the perils of tyranny."
Terrell went on to quote a biblical scholar named Timothy Terrell, as well as the Christian Reconstructionist R.J. Rushdoony.
Both, he said, supported the Christian right of private property over the powers of government.
In the end, the meeting went about as LaForce had predicted at its beginning.
"You may disagree," she told the audience. "But we know you'll understand, at least, why we want to do this."
The annexation issue will next go to the Searcy City Council for consideration at its July 13 meeting. At either that meeting or its August meeting, the council is expected to place the matter on the November ballot.