City discusses Monkey Junction annexation

WILMINGTON — Wilmington City Council members met Monday night to discuss annexing parts of Monkey Junction.

The expansion would mean more money for the city, forcing businesses and hundreds of residents to pay city taxes. The proposed annexation will affect about 1,500 people who live in the area — many of whom aren’t happy about the proposal.

Annexation has become an expletive to some New Hanover County residents.

“It’s always a dirty word no matter where you are because people don’t want it,” one resident said.

Wilmington City Council members are discussing the option to bring areas of Monkey Junction into the city limits. If approved, an additional fifteen hundred residents would then pay city taxes.

Wilmington City Councilman Ronald Sparks says it’s not just about money, but county residents benefiting from city services.

“We have police and fire that we can offer, stormwater — there are many things,” Sparks said. “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.”

The Johnson Farms community is one of the neighborhoods that could be annexed, but some of the residents don’t see this annexation as a benefit, but a way for the city to get money.

Chris Barbour said, “We don’t want to have to come into the city, we already have fire protection and the sheriff department to protect us. We don’t need the city.”

Barbour has lived in the disputed area for ten years. Not surprisingly, she does not want to pay city taxes.

“It’s not fair to go to the people out here and tax them to pay for your problems that you should have handled for the last 20 years,” Barbour said.

The city is aware of the residents concerns. They are also discussing other ideas to increase revenue.