Murphy sets sights on $7.6 million of taxable property in annexation bid
by Gabby Hudson Staff Writer

Annexation of 33 acres near Murphy High School is a possibility as the town board begins the legal procedures.

During the monthly meeting, board members heard from Glen Rhodes of the Department of Commerce who submitted a "Service Report" of the annexation of Bulldog Drive and part of the US Hwy 19 area.

The property includes Lowes Home Center, Sonic restaurant, the BP station (now closed), some property belonging to Cherokee County and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

To comply with annex regulations, the Town of Murphy adopted Resolution of Intent to Annex the subject area on July 2, 2007.

Public meetings concerning the annexation will be held on August 21, 2007 and September 13.

For the town to annex the property, town services must be extended to cover the area. These services include police protection, fire protection, water and sewer services, solid waste collection, streetlights, street maintenance and recreation.

The taxable real property values for the six lots in the proposed annex area are $7,619,320. Based on the town's 2006 tax rate of $.045 per $100 assessed value, the town will receive $34,286 of new real tax revenue.

The Town will receive additional tax revenues from those properties that are assessed for business and personal property. Based on information provided by Cherokee County tax supervisor, business and personal property in the proposed annex have a value of $2,437,271. Based on the town's tax rate of $.045 per $100 assessed value, the Town will receive $10,967. The total tax revenue generated with the annexation is estimated at $45,253 annually.

The report states that annexation is the procedure whereby the corporate limits of a municipality are extended to encompass additional land which, in most cases is urban in character. In addition to providing urban services to people that need them, annexation is a tool to implement plans and policies adopted by the community.

Annexation is one method of achieving the community's growth objective, which is balanced and directed growth. Annexation is also a method of strengthening the tax base of a municipality which will allow the locality to provide an adequate level of services to its citizens.

The Town of Murphy has four methods available to it for annexation.

*Action by the General Assembly: The General Assembly may at any time enlarge the boundaries of a municipality by a special act.

*100 percent petition - contiguous areas: The govern- ing body of any municipality may annex by ordinance any area contiguous to its boundaries upon the presentation to the governing board of a petition signed by the owners of all the real property located within such area.

*100 percent - Satellite Areas: A municipality may annex a satellite area by ordinance or petition from all owners of real property in the satellite area. Some portion of a satellite boundary must be within three miles of the primary corporate boundary of the annexing municipality.

*Annexation of Areas Meeting Statutory Standards: Annexation on cities of less than 5,000 defines "developed for urban purposes" and provides that such area is contiguous to a municipality's boundary may be annexed by ordinance if the municipality can provide the area with services on the same basis that it provides services within its existing boundaries.