City begs homeowners for their money
The administration of Mayor Dennis Phillips recently sent the letter below to residents in the Rock Springs Road area.
The letter is an attempt to get homeowners to voluntarily request to be annexed into the City of Kingsport, TN.
The letter also attempts to paint a rosy picture on how much better homeowners would be if they were within the city.
The mailing from Kingsport does it show the real cost of water or sewer tap fees or other costs, but the letter is borderline misleading. The statement, “Residents with school age children who desire to attend city schools will realize even greater savings” is simply not true. To my knowledge, the county does not charge tuition and neither does the city to attend the schools.
The letter states that the costs are minimal. The city needs to get real, because most homeowners know that their property taxes will almost double. The letter states that trash collection is free. How does the city get by saying it is free when you pay them the property tax that pays for the trash collection? If the insurance company insured the house for free, it will still cost the homeowner more to be in the city.
The bottom line is that the city wants to continue the “forced annexations” and it does not matter what the homeowners think about it. They are going to annex you because they in simple terms want the revenue from you because the population in Kingsport is declining and Kingsport is losing its tax base. The additional revenue from annexations is needed for the spending binge that the city has been on.
A homeowner told me, “Why should I agree to be annexed now and start paying taxes and it could take up to five years to get the sewer installed?” The homeowner also stated that they were more concerned about staying employed in this economic crisis than getting annexed.
The recent “forced annexations” over the last few years have resulted in hard feelings on the part of the homeowners. This election, they get to vote and I am sure that they will return the favor by voting for someone other than Mayor Dennis Phillips. I know Mayor Phillips is running unopposed, but they could also vote for a write-in candidate.
I want to thank the homeowner for me sending the letter below and other materials from the City of Kingsport.
29 January 2009
Dear Property Owner:
The annexation of your area will be considered by the Kingsport Regional Planning Commission in 2009. Future mailings from the Kingsport Planning Department will outline specific dates and meeting times for all annexation pertaining to your property. As some of you may be aware, previous Rock Springs annexations have been delayed by lawsuits filed by a handful of property owners.
An unfortunate side effect of annexation litigation is that court action prevents the city from annexing others who desire to become city residents, even if they are not party to a lawsuit
To avoid such a dilemma, the City of Kingsport is providing you with an opportunity to petition for annexation now, thus avoiding potential delays with the annexation of your property in the future.
There are many services available to city residents which are not provided by county government. A full description of these benefits is enclosed with this letter, along with an annexation cost-benefit worksheet.
For many potential city residents, the costs are minimal after taking into account lower home owners insurance due to better police and fire protection, dramatically lower water/sewer rates and free residential garbage disposal.
Residents with school age children who desire to attend city schools will realize even greater savings. However, county schools remain available to your children even if you reside inside Kingsport city limits.
In order to bring your property into the city, the Planning Department will need to receive the signed petition (attached) from you no later than 3 March 2009.
For assistance with the worksheet or other questions, please call the Kingsport Planning Department at (423) 229-9485.
Sincerely,
Ken Weems
Planner
City Hall 225 West Center Street Kingsport, TN 37660-4237 (423) 229-9400
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