CENTRE — Mayor Tony Wilkie wanted to be very clear last week regarding the proposed annexation of dozens of homes in the Tates Chapel community.

It wasn't the city's idea.

“Initially, it was a group of five that I met with, who called at the first of the year asking about being annexed into the city,” Wilkie said. “This came from people who live in that community.”

The area in question involves shoreline areas of Weiss Lake around Billy Goat Hill, north and east of the crossroads at Tates Chapel Baptist Church on County Roads 26 and 79.

Wilkie said he read a letter to the editor in last week's edition of The Post that dealt with the issue and “raised some good points.” But he said he has also handled questions that signify a lack of understanding about the proposed annexation.

“Someone said to me that if they're brought into the city they won't get a vote because they are part-time residents,” Wilkie said. “Well, they don't get a vote in the county as it is. Everyone only gets one vote, and that's wherever their permanent residence is. Why even bring that up as an issue?”

Wilkie also pointed out that the letter to the editor questioned why an estimated level of “95 percent opposition” to annexation at a public hearing called by the city this summer has dropped to “somewhere in the 30 percent range.”

Wilkie said he thinks people are more approving of the idea of annexation because they are asking questions.

“I feel like that [percentage] changed as more people have gotten the facts,” Wilkie said. “I encourage everyone to City Hall, call Johnny Roberts' office, call their insurance company, and find out whether annexation would be good for them. Then decide after they have all the facts.”

City Councilman Sid Garrett said he believes residents who initially opposed the idea of annexation have changed their minds after doing just that type of research.

“At the meeting a lot of people were in opposition,” Garrett said. “But since then, even people who opposed annexation at that meeting have called us back and said they've thought things out and now want to take a look at it.”

Wilkie admitted that the city's initial public meeting on the subject was not as informative as it could have been.

“I was out of town at a meeting and was not there, but I wish I had been,” Wilkie said. “A lot of people wanted answers to some different questions, and I think they felt like they didn't get good answers to those questions.”

As a result, Wilkie said, an anti-annexation letter soon made the rounds in the community and included a phrase that makes most Americans shutter: “higher taxes”.

“We're in difficult times as it is, and I am not for raising taxes or adding any new taxes,” Wilkie said. “I am for whatever the people of the Tates Chapel community want. If they have all the facts and their decision is no, then I'm fine with that.”

But Wilkie stressed that there are clear advantages to joining the city, including the possibility of lower fire insurance rates as a result of coming under the umbrella of the Centre Fire Department, and lower garbage pickup rates.

“We charge $8 per month for sanitation service,” Wilkie said. “Which I believe is less than the county charges.”

At the Sept. 26 meeting of the Cherokee County Commission, officials from Waste Management, which provides sanitation services to the county, announced plans to increase their monthly pick-up fee by $1.50 to $19.68.

Spread out over an entire year, the total savings for a home inside the city limits, based on garbage collection rates alone, is $140.16.

At this paper's request, Cherokee County Revenue Commissioner Johnny Roberts offered a comparative analysis of annual taxes for an average homeowner in the Tates Chapel area.

“For a $100,000 home, property taxes in the county are 42 mills, which means $420,” Roberts said. “If the property was annexed into the city, their rate would increase to 47 mills, which works out to $470 a year.”

Garrett said an informal survey of residents being conducted by another councilman is running around 60-40 in favor of annexation.

“Glenn [Chandler] is doing surveys and about 60 people have filled out forms to annex,” Garrett said. “There are about 120 homes in the area and we'll look at the whole thing. If we can't do that we'll back down and do what we can. We only want to go where we're wanted.”

Wilkie said he has answered questions from people who claim that being forced to adhere to the city's building code would be a “downside” since the county has never established building codes for unincorporated areas. But Wilkie said he doesn't see the negative side of a consistent set of regulations.

“There will be zoning laws to ensure that someone can't build something you don't want next to where you live,” Wilkie said. “That can help keep the property value of your home at the level where it needs to be. That's a good thing. Obviously, any structures that already exist would be grandfathered in.”

Wilkie is grateful for the handful of residents who have already been annexed into the city, but added that he would like to see the corporate limits in the Tates Chapel community improve on its present checkerboard-like appearance.

“You'd like to make your corporate limits more accessible, because right now in that area you have to drive out of the city limits, then back into the county, then reenter the city limits again,” he said. “We're already providing city services, such as sanitation and police and fire protection. It would make sense to try and connect these areas.”

Garrett said he hopes Tates Chapel residents will seek answers to all their questions before they decide on annexation.

“I imagine there will be some more meetings, because throughout this process there has been a lot of misinformation – a lot,” Garrett said. “That's discouraging. We just want people to make an informed decision.”