Council sets new hearing on annexation
By Matt Shaw
Published in News on June 2, 2005 1:46 PM
Annexation opponents will get another chance this month to convince the Goldsboro City Council that they don't want to be part of the city.
The council has announced it will have a new public hearing on whether the city should extend its limits to include hundreds of homes north of its current boundary.
The hearing will be Tuesday, June 28, beginning at 7 p.m. The city has booked the auditorium at Herman Park Center, anticipating a large crowd. More than 300 people attended last year's hearing.
The city officially announced the hearing Tuesday, although residents in the affected areas began getting notification letters Friday.
Annexation opponents are already making plans for an even greater show of force this year.
Bill Burnette, one of the leaders, said he hopes to attract current city residents to join the fight. He pointed out the city's current proposed 5-cent property tax increase equals the amount the city expects to pay next year to begin serving the annexation area.
"Without that line item, there is no increase," Burnette said Tuesday.
City residents were not allowed to speak at the April 2004 hearing, which was an error, Superior Court Judge Kenneth Crow ruled two months ago.
Crow also said the city must amend its original annexation report to include information about water rates. The city cannot allow its new residents to pay more than current residents for water service.
Council members can vote after the June 28 hearing to annex the property again.
The council voted 5-2 in April 2004 to annex property primarily along the east and west sides of Salem Church Road and the north and south sides of Buck Swamp Road. This included part or all of the Ashby Hills, Fallingbrook Estates, Morgan Trace, Buck Run, Pineview Acres, Tarklin Acres and Canterbury Village neighborhoods.
The annexation was supposed to be effective June 30, 2004, but has been delayed by legal challenges by residents.
The councilmen who opposed the annexation were Jimmy Bryan and William Goodman. Since then, Goodman has been replaced on the board by Don Chatman.