Boseman proposes an annexation moratorium for New Hanover County

To Standing Next To You.... Have you ever heard the saying, "You must walk before you can run."? Sen. Boseman opposes the annexation, but she can't go for a five year just so someone can sell their house. Good luck in this economy. The one year at least will get the legislature to a point of considering a comprehensive set of changes to the annexation laws, if not abolishing them all together (unlikely to happen). Pour your energies into contacting ALL the elected officials and lobbying the N.C. League of Municipalities. It's the LEAGUE that is causing all the problems. They are in the pockets of people like Bill Saffo and Sterling Cheatham and Tony Caudle. I respect your position and wish you lots of luck. I'm Standing with you as well.

Instead of fighting the annexation, why not attend a County Commissioners meeting and fight for equitable taxation? City residents are paying for things that we don't use, and we are also paying for things those outside the city use. If city residents had a lower county tax rate than non-city residents, that would be a strong argument against annexation. And if the city received the sales tax dollars they *should* be getting back from the county instead of just a small percentage, this would be a non-issue. Wear red all you want, but as long as the taxation is inequitable, you will see more annexations - right or wrong.

If your folks aren't already hooked up to water & sewer service, just wait until they get the bill for that huge connection fee the CFPUA will charge... (of course, that is if CFPUA gets their billing issues straight by then)

I can see both sides. County residents don't want to pay city taxes for things they might use in the city such as parks, streets, public safety -- and I can understand not wanting to be double-taxed because the county already provides these things as well, but city residents are paying double taxes for things they don't use. Instead of annexing, why not cut the county taxes for city residents? And give the city the sales tax revenue that's actually earned in the city? Currently that is not being done. 80 percent of all sales taxes collected within the county are generated within city limits, but the city only gets 20 percent back. How is that fair? I think if the county was a little more equitable by decreasing property taxes for city residents and giving city government the money generated within the city, annexation would not even be necessary. That way everyone should be a little happier. Hey Julia -- you know there are alternatives...

How about standing up for what most of us in the Monkey Junction area do not want. Call it what you want

You are absolutey right that this is typical of a Senator that has a long record of looking out for the fiscal/aggregate needs of the county that she serves and has served for a year short of a decade now. this does not mean that this should not be annexed, this means that there should be due consideration of the timing and how we go about these processes to strengthen our communities. Just another way we have the best senator for our area!

If annexation doesn't happen, then I would expect that all of the "down-with-the-man" county people to discontinue use of any Wilmington services. That means don't take advantage of living 5 minutes from the city because obviously MJ can sustain itself and all of the needs of its residents. Sure, you don't need to pay taxes for things that you use, that seems completely fair to the 100,000 residents of Wilmington that pay for those services. It just seems like if the area is going to leech off of the city and enjoy the benefits of close proximity, both for personal gain and for property value reasons, then taxes should be paid. County taxes are artificially low as it is...and thats because the area cities are subsidizing! I don't support paying more money for anything that I don't use, but in this case, it seems fair. If Boseman gets the moratorium passed, then so be it. At that point, it would be a new legal issue. But, at this point, the city of Wilmington and MJ have seemingly qualified for all of the legalities of this annexation. That means that according to state law, it's perfectly okay.

Fiscally Sound? How about Wilmington stops spending money so fast...ITS CALLED A BUDGET! LIVE IT...FOLLOW IT and you have money left over!

...is that she had a momentary flash of brilliance, and remembered the principles upon which this country was founded. If the residents of Monkey Junction want to become residents of Wilmington, let them VOTE to become residents of Wilmington, Mister Goebbels. Meanwhile, concentrate on getting YOUR taxes lowered. You're getting ripped off via double taxation, but prefer that everyone join your misery over city residents being treated fairly.

I am having to come to grips with alot of hurried changes in this country, against my personal political beliefs. I can't believe that WE THE PEOPLE elected Julia Boseman again. She seems like a caring, somewhat competant elected official, but reality is that her personal life, financial, and legal affairs are a mess. More than 75% of all elected officials (including Barack Obama) would not pass a basic military backround check, much less a secret clearance. I digress.. However, Annexation of Monkey Junction is unfair without a vote of the residents of the areas in question. Growth of government helps increase costs for all of us. The City has no plan to decrease taxes with the increased revenue - in fact, they have no plan for the revenue at all. Given the current state of economic affairs in this country, ALL government needs to streamline, consolidate, and reduce budgets. 100,000 people were laid off this week. NC state is going to be $3 billion over budget this year, and New Hanover is over $3 million over. I personally have had to cut back, with home insurance going up, property taxes going up, health insurance going up... We got a %3 raise at work this year, with 4-5% inflation. The solution is for New Hanover county and City of Wilmington to consolidate. We need to stop paying for two redundant sets of services. We need to reduce government. Does anyone out there get the benefits and retirement that city/county/state employees get? Over a 1/4 of all your taxes pays for benefits for people that no longer even work. That number will increase as government grows, and people live longer. I would applaud ANY movement from City/County/State to reduce OUR cost of having the privilege of living here. As for Julia, even a blind squirrel eventually finds a nut... and she happens to be right for once.