"We have police and fire... Just the fact that you are living near Wilmington, we have road systems we have parks we have the arts and the river so there are a lot of things that people benefit from being next to the river." - City Councilman Ronald Sparks And as a resident of New Hanover County I'm already 'near Wilmington' and 'benefit' from the parks, arts, river, and even the roads that the city has to offer. Collecting additional tax revenue from me that can then be mishandled isn't going to provide me any further 'benefit'. The Johnson Farms area (for example) is already well protected by county law enforcement and a very able fire department. The only possible advantage from being within the city limits that I can fathom would be a uniform speed limit of no more than 35MPH throughout all the developments that make up Johnson Farms. But that alone isn't worth the higher taxes Wilmington would collect - and would likely be poorly enforced due to a lack of available patrol officers. An issue that was supposed to have been remedied by revenue from prior annexations. I'm not against progress and I understand that with growth comes change. But until the City can offer something of real value in return for our tax dollars, they're barely more than strongarmed thugs engaged in highway robbery.