Look, Ma! I’ve Been Annexed!
Last night when I went to bed, I was a resident of Mecklenberg County, North Carolina.
This morning I wake up as a newly absorbed citizen of the city of Charlotte, North Carolina.
By the way, I never had a say in the matter. No vote. Just absorption.
And what do I get as a new resident of Charlotte? As far as I can tell the only thing new is an increase of $30 per month of taxes.
Isn’t this Annexation Without Representation?
Government, 1
We, The People, 0
-Bruce (GayPatriot)
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Wow Bruce, they sure do things differently down South where you live. The City of Charlotte annexed land without any input from the annexees (is that a word?). Here in New England, annexation happens rarely. Municipalities have had the same boundaries for decades. If any borders are to change, it has to have input from all affected towns plus the legislature has to weigh in. In today’s Boston Globe, the City of Boston is looking to annex land from the Town of Dedham. Both places have to negotiate.
I take it you used to live in unincorporated territory. The taxes were lower & city politics didn’t affect you. Sounds like Charlotte got greedy.
Comment by Jimbo — June 30, 2007 @ 11:06 am - June 30, 2007
We are Charlotte. Resistance is futile. You have been annexilated.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — June 30, 2007 @ 2:32 pm - June 30, 2007
Bruce, if the laws of NC are like those of Texas, you really didn’t have a choice but to be annexed if you lived in a Municipal Utility District (MUD).
Here in Texas, if you live in a MUD which encompasses a big city like Houston, you are able to be annexed unless your community decides to incorporate into a city. Therefore, even though you lived in unincorporated Mecklenberg County, under the law if you lived in a MUD, you were bound to be annexed.
Here in Houston, we annexed the Kingwood subdivision in the mid-1990s and those people went ballistic. I worked at City Hall at the time and cannot tell you how many irate people called up demanding to be “de-annexed.” I had to explain the law to them and somehow I don’t think they believed me – they were too busy screaming at the top of their lungs and calling me things that I don’t think I’ve ever heard before.
But look on the bright side – now you will receive police protection, fire departments, public works and city representation in Charlotte, thanks to those wonderful municipal taxes you will now be paying!
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — June 30, 2007 @ 4:23 pm - June 30, 2007
Thank God for the reknowned, old-fashioned justice of the State of North Carolina.
Comment by David Ross — June 30, 2007 @ 8:36 pm - June 30, 2007
#3
Yeah, but you guys didn’t get us in the FM 1960 proposed annexation. I was on Cypress Creek EMS & Ponderosa VFD at the time. We even had “No To Annexation” bumper stickers on the engines and ambulances.
I remember those days when Houston sacked Kingwood.
BTW Pete, I got off I-95 one night in Palm Coast, FL. Looked a lot like Kingwood. The first street I came to was King’s Crossing or something to that effect. Thought I had travelled through The Scary Door or something. Guess it was the same developer.
Comment by ThatGayConservative — July 2, 2007 @ 1:11 am - July 2, 2007
#5 – TGC, the only way to circumvent annexation in a MUD is to incorporate as a city following Dillon’s Rule in the state constitution. That is why The Woodlands escaped annexation by Spring and/or Houston. Other areas didn’t get off so lucky.
Just a hint for you – Houston’s MUD goes all the way to the proposed Grand Parkway. Any communities are ripe for the picking.
Regards,
Peter H.
Comment by Peter Hughes — July 2, 2007 @ 12:32 pm - July 2, 2007
And the worst part of being from Charlotte? The Bobcats are now your team.
Comment by Chase — July 3, 2007 @ 11:56 pm - July 3, 2007