The Town of Boone is suing the state for eliminating its ETJ. Now, Watauga County has decided to join the lawsuit to fight on behalf of the people, or perhaps itself. Some of the commissioners thought it did not serve the taxpayers to collect taxes here and there for lawsuits in the name of property rights.

Chair Nathan Miller explained his stance:

Miller recalled a . . . situation in which a farmer wanted to build a road to be able to get hay on the side of a mountain, but the town wouldn’t allow it without the construction of accompanying sidewalks.