Chuck Allen's Letter to Carolyn Russell
ALLEN GRADING COMPANY, INC
July 18, 2001
The Honorable Carolyn Russell
304 Glen Oak Drive
Goldsboro, NC 27534
Dear Carolyn:
That being said, I'm sure you are aware that certain citizens in this area believe based on what they've read in the paper that this area is our first choice for annexation in the future, which may or may not be true. Thus they are obviously trying to avoid being annexed by the city. The city council has been looking at four areas) would be best and most cost effective to annex. (Are you going to incorporate these other three areas as well.) Basically, what you have done now is forced our hand. If we want to annex this area, we have to do it now and fast in order to preempt what you are doing. Some communication between you and the city leaders might avoid these conditions. I make the following points for your consideration.
1.. The State Constitution Article VII, Section I, states that if a community lies within 4 miles of a city of 25,000 people (which this area does) that the incorporation can occur only upon the approval of three fifths of the members of each house. The purpose of this is a state policy that favors annexation by existing cities of urban areas over incorporation of new cities. Based on this, it seems obvious that the intent of the North Carolina annexation statues are to facilitate orderly expansion of our existing cites and limit the General Assembly ability to Incorporate new cities proximity to existing cities.
2. As you may be aware, several homes and lots in this area have failing septic systems and annexation by the city would certainly help these citizens by having the option to hook onto the city sewer system.
The article in the paper stated that they had a proposed tax rate of .30 per 1,000 value. You and I both know that this is not enough to run a municipality. I believe this will be a case of you get what you pay for and when its all said and done, I believe most citizens in this area, when they stop and think about it would rather pay another .32 per 1,000 which would then equal Goldsboro's rate, where they could have full time trained police, fire and rescue personnel, not to mention, water, serer, garbage, city maintenance, etc.
In closing, I could write all day on why this proposed incorporation would be detrimental to the city and why you shouldn't support this bill, but would like to leave you with the following. A city that doesn't grow dies and because of the white flight in the schools, floods and various other reasons, Goldsboro (the city) is not growing, especially our young white families and according to the census, we might even be losing people. Thus the annexation of this area would not only add good tax base to Goldsboro, it would also help us keep our racial make up in check, which in my opinion is very important to our future.
Please know that the City of Goldsboro will be very much against this incorporation. I hope we can change your mind on this issue. I , as well as the Mayor and the rest of the city council will certainly be contacting Representatives Baddour and Bell as well as Senator Kerr and the Governor to ensure that three fifths of both houses won't support this bill.
Once again I hope that you will look at this situation again and realize that it is not good for Goldsboro and the majority of our citizens, not is it fair to other citizens who have been annexed. Should you care to discuss this matter any further, please feel free to contact me.
With kindest regards, I am
Chuck Allen
City Council member
cc: Representative Phil Baddour
Representative Larry Bell
Senator John Kerr
Mayor Hal Plonk
City Council Members
I've taken photos of 1/2 pages so it may be a little more legible.
Public Notice
Phase 11 "Annexation Area" vs. Goldsboro
Facts.........
