There are some serious concerns that I have about this merger proposal, the least of which is how it was presented to the Belville Board Members. None of us were involved in preparing the presentation and were called in individually by Mayor Batson for a meeting unaware of the topic. The Belville Board of Commissioners has not considered a merger with Leland and are proud that we have continued with the wishes of her citizens to maintain a low tax rate while planning for steady and sustainable growth. Roads are being repaired, the downtown development is moving towards a resolution, negotiations for our town hall are being finalized, plans for identifying the drainage issues are in the works, as well as exploring traffic calming devices in the housing developments. Mayor Batson has undermined and usurped the authority of the Board on this and other issues - this is the real issue that the Belville Board of Commissioners must address in the near future.