This is a bit of a rehash about the under-reported Sullivan acts, special legislation crafted uniquely for Asheville. These acts require Asheville to provide water to anybody who asks for it, and not condition provision with requirements for annexation. Though annexation is overestimated by the urban planners to be an essential nutrient for growing cities; when all other cities have incentives for growing their tax base through annexation except one, the lone penalized city suffers.
During negotiations several years ago, several tax equity options were thrown around, and the one that most equitably compensated for the fact that city residents pay county and city taxes was being able to charge differential rates for water. Asheville, by the Sullivan acts, is prohibited from doing this. Asheville has to provide water for the region, but residents in the city bear the $6.2 million/year burden of maintaining the water system.
Developers know this and build posh condos on the outskirts of town. This leads to rich-flight. Involuntary annexations often come with court costs for the city. And so it was that local representative Bruce Goforth (D-Buncombe) et al. hosted a public hearing in Asheville to solicit input on involuntary annexation. They want to protect citizens from taxation without representation by allowing referenda to prevent involuntary annexation. This would be well and good if Asheville wasn’t burdened by the Sullivan acts, co-sponsored by Goforth, Susan Fisher (D-Buncombe) and retired Wilma Sherrill (R-Buncombe).
The input at the public hearing, however was lopsided. The meeting had long been scheduled for last Wednesday, but sometime the Sunday before, notices were published indicating the meeting had been rescheduled, and would be held Tuesday, when council members, city attorneys, and reporters who have kept up with the nonsense were committed to be miles away at the regularly-scheduled city council meeting.
Kudos to Brian Postelle of the Mountain Xpress for running down a copy of the letter members of council hoped to have included in the public record.
