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Frequently Asked Questions
about ANNEXATION
Q: Why do cities annex?
A: $$$$$$ It is all about revenue. ($$$$$$) They want property tax ($$$$$$) from homeowners and sales tax ($$$$$$) from businesses.
Q: Can cities legally annex for revenue ($$$$$$)?
A: No. The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in 1978 that it is unconstitutional to annex for revenue. That’s why cities put up so much of a smoke screen to avoid the obvious legal flaw of their actions.
Q: Doesn’t the City have to notify me before I am annexed?
A: No. State law does not require the City to notify a property owner. They only have to run a notice in the legal section of the newspaper one time.
Q: What does annexation do to the schools?
A: If the City does not have its own school district, it actually hurts the schools because it robs the schools of local tax revenue ($$$$$$).
Q: Why is Citizens for Home Rule such a vocal opponent of annexation?
A: Because forced annexation is a form of "Taxation Without Representation." The politicians who force you into the city do not represent you in the annexation process. They represent the people who are already in the city whose taxes ($$$$$$) they don’t want to raise.
Q: What actual authority do cities have to annex people who don’t want to be annexed?
A: Cities get their authority to annex “by ordinance” (forced annexation) from TCA 6-51-102 only when the annexation “may be deemed necessary for the welfare of the residents and property owners of the affected territory as well as the municipality as a whole.”
Q: Our Mayor and local leaders say we are selfish for refusing to be annexed.
A: Name-calling is often used by local potentates to intimidate law-abiding property owners who are minding their own business. But it is the City that is being the greedy ($$$$$$) neighbor.
Q: We are inside the Urban Growth Boundary and the City Engineer and City Planner told us there’s nothing we can do to fight the annexation.
A: Either they are ignorant of the law, or lying, or both.
Q: When the City passes the annexation ordinance, how long do I have to file suit to block it?
A: The property owner has 30 days to file suit.
Q: How soon will the Courts hear our annexation suit?
A: It depends on how clogged the local court docket is. Two years or more is not uncommon.
Q: Can the City tax ($$$$$$) us while the suit is pending?
A: No.
Q: What if we lose the case, will the City be able to collect back taxes ($$$$$$) against us?
A: No.
Q: Will annexation affect where I vote?
A: Yes. If you let the city take you, you will almost certainly be moved at a city precinct.
Q: If we file suit to block the annexation, will a jury hear our case?
A: No. The Legislature took away this constitutional right in 1998.
Q: What can be done to restore our right of trail by jury?
A: Citizens for Home Rule is litigating this issue in the appeals courts, and we are working with several members of the Legislature to restore this constitutional right.
Q: Doesn’t the Declaration of Independence mention Taxation Without Representation and the loss of the right of trial by jury?
A: Yes. Our Founding Fathers revolted against a Tyrant who robbed us of our private property rights and suppressed the right of trial by jury. This is why forced annexation is UN-AMERICAN.
John A. Emison
President, Citizens for Home Rule, Inc.