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Tuesday, 27 June 2006 16:30 |
By DAVID FORBES
WOODFIN ?? Plans by this North Buncombe town to annex surrounding areas including around 3,500 people on 2,000 acres were met with harsh criticism from residents of the areas at a June 20 hearing held by the Woodfin Board of Aldermen.
Around
300 people showed up for the hearing, which had to be moved from
Woodfin??s Town Hall to the Woodfin Elementary School gymnasium because
of the size of the crowd. All of the speakers voiced their opposition
to the annexations, asserting that the plan is motivated by greed and
that the annexations will bring them an increased tax burden and little
benefit.
?®I??ve heard of people who, when they were annexed, saw their tax burden
almost double ?? I can barely afford to pay my taxes right now,?∆
resident Marsha Pace said. ?®We are in a desperate time ?? and the last
thing the people in this room need is more taxes put on our shoulders.
?®It??s not going to help people like me ?? not one single bit. All it??s
going to do is make my financial load even worse than it is right now.
I tried to live out in the county to get away from such things. Our
roads can barely handle the load they have now. I don??t want your
services. I don??t need them. I don??t intend to use them and I sure
don??t intend to pay for them.?∆
Her remarks drew enthusiastic applause, as did those of many of the
other speakers when they voiced their opposition to the annexations.
The proposed involuntary annexations, including Woodland Hills, Stony
Brook, Crest Mountain and portions of Leisure Mountain Road and Baird
Cove Road ?? would add almost 50 percent to Woodfin??s population and
make it the second largest municipality in Buncombe County. The
proposal faces another public hearing at the next meeting of the board
?? before final approval in August.
Residents in the affected areas already pay the county taxes of 59
cents on every $100 of property value. If annexed, they will also have
to pay Woodfin??s 28.5 cents tax rate.
Town Administrator Jason Young fielded questions from the audience ??
and asserted that the annexations are necessary for the town??s
development, permitted under state law ?? and that Woodfin??s taxes are
relatively low.
?®I know of no one who has been annexed by Woodfin who has seen their
taxes double ?? it??s just not there,?∆ Young said, responding to Pace??s
earlier remarks.
In reply, Pace shouted back: ?®You can say what you want to, but for
what you??re offering us as opposed to what it??s going to cost us ?? it??s
not worth it. What gives you the right to annex us??∆
Young noted that all the areas met the state??s requirements for annexation by a municipality.
?®The state of North Carolina has recognized that municipalities
occasionally need this,?∆ Young said. ?®They??ve set up laws and standards
that govern this, stretching all the way back to 1959 and continuing
today. Areas that are urban in character should be served by
municipalities ?? that??s their belief. If there is an issue here with
how involuntary annexation is conducted, the Town of Woodfin did not
create legislation. This is the same rulebook that the Town of
Weaverville and the City of Asheville also play by.?∆
He also said he found petitions circulated throughout the areas ??
several of which were presented to the board by speakers at the
meeting, ?®fundamentally flawed on many legal precepts ?? and
misrepresenting the relevant background here.?∆
Earlier, Mayor Jerry VeHaun had noted that ?®whether you agree or
disagree is fine with us ?? we??re just hear to listen?∆ but cautioned
members of the public speaking at the meeting to avoid personal attacks
on the aldermen.
In the first remarks after VeHaun??s words, Rick Clemenzi, a Woodland
Hills resident, said that while he intended no personal attacks, ?®I??d
like to protest and call the board to order ?? personally, I believe
that involuntary annexation is just fundamentally wrong. I find the
whole thing extremely distasteful. There just doesn??t seem to be any
cause for you to come after our neighborhoods.?∆
Moreover, Clemenzi also voiced his disagreement with Woodfin??s approach.
?®You??re coming after us in a way that??s not even inviting,?∆ he said.
?®Here we are, neighbors, and maybe we could have worked something out
by consensus, by discussion. Weaverville has already documented their
opposition. But the idea that you just suddenly tell us this is
distasteful. Withdraw this ?? then talk with us and talk with
Weaverville and we can work something out that??s beneficial for all of
us down the road.?∆
The availability of police protection to the annexed areas was also a concern.
?®In terms of resource and coverage issues, I know Woodfin is below our
closer neighbor Weaverville,?∆ Dan Diechenbach, a resident of Woodland
Hills, said. ?®Recently, I saw someone standing on the overpass on New
Stock Road, about to jump ?? a possible suicide. People were already
gathering around. I went to the Woodfin Police Department as quickly as
possible. When I got there, there was no officer on duty ?? just a phone
telling me I could call the county sheriff. With a huge population
increase, are there plans to at least double the police force to deal
with this??∆
Young responded that there are no such plans, but that Woodfin is
adding four additional police officers to reach a coverage of one
officer per 500 residents ?? to cope with the increase.
Furthermore, he noted that ?®it is typical of small departments to have
a dispatch there that will pick up at the sheriff??s office, rather than
there being an officer there. But in an emergency situation, the
Sheriff??s Department will notify us and send someone there.?∆
VeHaun added that Weaverville uses a similar service.
In contrast, John Dankel, a Woodland Hills resident who is also an
officer with the Asheville Police Department, asserted that Young??s
figures are mistaken ?? and that Woodfin will not be able to provide
sufficient police protection to the newly annexed areas.
?®There??s reference made to a ?¥national standard?? of one officer for
every 500 residents,?∆ Dankel said. ?®I??m here to tell you ?? I have 37
years experience in law enforcement, including 16 years as a chief of
police. There is no such standard. That is something that floated
around 50 or 60 years ago. It??s entirely discredited. The four officers
that you??re proposing to hire is a made-up number ?? not based on any
sort of analysis of calls for service, time on call, response time,
etc. It just seems to be a number that was calculated using a
nonexistent standard.?∆
Moreover, Dankel also criticized the amount of money the town would be making from the annexations.
?®You??re not going to be spending anything on services like you??re going
to be receiving in additional tax revenue ?? what??s going to happen to
the rest of that money??∆ Dankel asked. ?®I think some of that money is
going to pay for all this new development. Private developers may build
the buildings, but there are tremendous costs to go along with that
development.?∆
In addition, Dankel said that he sees this move as being against Woodfin??s founding principles.
?®Someone will have to explain to me why a town that came into existence
to resist involuntary annexation is now completely changing its
philosophy and doing the same thing and annexing people who don??t want
to be in this town. It??s an interesting reversal to see a town turning
on its neighbors.?∆
In reply, Young said that times have changed since its 1971 founding ??
and that Woodfin is recognizing that with the move towards annexation.
?®I think that the town is recognizing that we can no longer play by a
unilateral set of rules while our neighbors are busy practicing
involuntary annexation in all directions,?∆ Young said. ?®Times have
changed in Buncombe County ?? there??s a lot more growth and development.?∆
Opposition among the residents of the areas runs deep, Woodland Hills
resident Hooker McCants asserted, as he presented a petition to the
board. He added that the new tax burden would be hardest on retirees
living on fixed incomes.
?®One hundred percent of the people I??ve spoken to personally are
totally, totally, 100 percent against this annexation,?∆ McCants said.
?®I moved into the Stony Brook subdivision 18 years ago. I live around
some of the finest people in the world. I want you to take a look
around this room. Many of us purchased a home, hoping one day we could
retire ?? and we did. Assessments by Buncombe County have more than
doubled in the years I??ve been living here ?? and we have to pay those
taxes. We live on fixed budgets and yet you want to annex a place we
call home for the sake of total greed. What can you offer us that we
don??t already have??∆
Raising his voice, McCants continued.
?®I call upon you to take your resolution, put it up on the table and burn the durn thing!?∆ he said.
In separate remarks, resident Gary Brock warned the board that they would be risking their positions by passing the annexations.
?®I can tell you one thing ?? everyone here votes,?∆ Brock said. ?®And if
you vote to annex us, we will vote you out ?? you can bet on that. Annex
us and we??ll elect a new board of aldermen ?? and a new town
administrator.?∆
Alderman Debra Giezentanner was absent from the meeting.
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