Asheville’s Vice Mayor Jan Davis was on the radio this morning talking about the city’s defeat in their lawsuit against the state and Buncombe County to have the Sullivan acts repealed. The Sullivan acts are state laws that prohibit Asheville and no other municipality from charging differential water rates, using city water as a tool for annexation, and using water revenue outside the water department. Davis lamented that Asheville annexed fewer properties than most municipalities in recent history, and its annexations are usually resisted with kicking and screaming. Since Asheville is going to have to live with the Sullivan acts now, perhaps, by way of annexation reform, the state would consider extending them to all municipalities.
by Leslee Kulba
Wild West blogger