Background/Purpose of Request:
Approximately 10 years ago, the General Assembly made changes to the involuntary annexation statutes that protected citizens in unincorporated areas and made it more difficult for municipalities to annex the property of those citizens against their wishes. Municipalities responded by conditioning the provision of water and sewer services outside their corporate limits with a requirement that the property owner “voluntarily” petition to be annexed.
This practice is not addressed by any specific statute and has resulted in what amounts to circumvention of the prohibitions against involuntary annexation. This resolution acknowledges and supports the need for legislative action to prevent municipalities from entering agreements with sanitary districts or other water and sewer providers whereby the districts agree to only extend service to areas if the property owner petitions to be annexed into the municipality. |