Voters will decide whether they want Batesville to annex a growing area just south of the Independence County city that includes an airport and several businesses.
During a contentious Batesville City Council meeting Monday evening, members voted 6-2 to place a proposal to annex portions of the Southside community on the Nov. 4 ballot. One alderman on the eight-member council abstained from voting. Because the measure needed at least a two-thirds vote for passage, Mayor Rick Elumbaugh cast the deciding vote.
The city proposes to annex 2,400 people in Southside -- an area atop Ramsey Mountain just south of the White River -- and provide them with city services such as fire protection, sanitation and animal control.
The proposed area includes three subdivisions, the Southside School District facility, the Batesville Municipal Airport, two large car dealerships and several other businesses along U.S. 167.
Those eligible for voting in the election would be Batesville's 10,427 residents and residents of the area proposed for annexation.
Elumbaugh said that if the measure is passed, the area would receive two new seats on the Batesville City Council and would be eligible for municipal grants.
"This is something we should have done 40 years ago," Elumbaugh said. "This would give the area a voice in obtaining state and federal money."
Residents of the area, though, are apprehensive about the plan. Several hundred people attended Monday's City Council meeting, which was moved from City Hall to the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville to accommodate the crowd.
The audience was boisterous at times, booing Arkansas Municipal League Director Don Zimmerman as he explained annexation laws.
"There are a lot of questions out there," said James Sturch, a Southside resident who opposes the annexation plan. "This was brought up so quickly. If they had taken time and answered questions, maybe it would have encouraged them to vote for this."
Aldermen had to approve calling for the election at least 70 days before Nov 4. Tuesday was the last day to place the issue on the ballot, Elumbaugh said.
"This would change a lot of people's way of life," Sturch said.
He said many feared the area would see higher millage rates if the annexation is favored. The area's sales tax is 8.75 percent; Batesville has an additional 2 percent sales tax that Southside residents would be forced to pay if the area is annexed.
Elumbaugh said Southside residents' fire insurance premiums would drop dramatically. Under the annexation proposal, the city would provide immediate fire protection and build a new fire station in the area within three years.
He said the city would also put in a needed traffic light near Southside High School if the area is annexed.
"We're not the bad guys," the mayor said. "We want to bring the communities together. They have been a 'city' for a long time, but they have not had any representation. If they are part of Batesville, they will be eligible for grants."
Elumbaugh said the annexation would make the area more attractive to businesses seeking to relocate there.
"Our town is attractive," he said. "This would make it more attractive. This would give us a 20-year or a 40-year plan. We need a vision like that. There are a lot of 'win-win' situations with this.
"I feel confident if the people listened to all the facts, they would want this to pass," he said. "We just want to take it to the people and let them decide."
It's not the first time Southside has been considered for annexation. Residents in 2004 also attempted to incorporate on their own, but the attempt failed.
Independence County Justice of the Peace Tim Stewart, who lives in the area and teaches at Southside High School, said he is concerned that the annexation would rob the county of revenue. The community brings in about $350,000 a year in sales tax revenue, he said.
"That would be money cut out of our county's budget if Southside is annexed," he said. "That would hit us hard. Our budget is tight. There's not much fat to cut out of it as it is. It will hurt the county."
State Desk on 08/27/2014