WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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A local “citizen-organized group” has undertaken a coordinated effort to mobilize residents across Monroe County to challenge their potential annexation by the City of Bloomington.
WFHB met with Monroe County Residents Against Annexation member Margaret Clements who further elaborated on the function and role of such an organization.
“That is Monroe County Residents Against Annexation (MCRAA)… they’re our grassroots effort by a number of us across the county, all around the county, who are trying to stop annexation… and we believe we can do it by obtaining signatures by 65% of the property owners in each annexation area.”
The MCRAA has participated in a number of signature gathering events including “door-to-door petition drives in each zone” as well as other signature collection movements.
Clements explained how the process of collecting signatures for “property-specific petitions” could show City of Bloomington officials a significant enough level of opposition to annexation to deter the city moving forward.
“There’s general consistent opposition to annexation… in annexation area 4 inside the city they’re opposed to it… annexation area 3… they’re opposed to it… 1b is opposed to it… 1a is opposed to it… 7 is opposed to it… 2 is opposed to it… 6 has gotten out of it… 1c, they’re all opposed to it…”
“It’s been apparent, but we were waiting for the city to release their plans and to tell us what their plans were, what the territory was, what properties they intended to annex and that just happened…”
“I’ve been receiving phone calls and emails and last night I had a meeting… I had a nice turnout of about fifty neighbors who signed petitions against annexation… we’re finding that a lot of the remonstration waivers are invalid or expired, and so people who think they filed a remonstration waiver should go ahead and sign a petition…”
In a press release dated July 15th, the MCRAA explained that “if 65 percent of property owners in an annexation zone exercise their right to remonstrate, annexation of that zone will fail and the residents will remain in Monroe County.”
Within the same press release, Clements explained that “these petitions indicate to the City Council that, if they do vote to approve these annexations, the affected property owners intend to remonstrate” and that the remonstration process is “a legal remedy allowed by state law.”
When asked about whether or not this 65% remonstration rate was attainable in each of the zones proposed for annexation, Clements says she’s hopeful.
“I think we’re going to reach it… and we’re trying to tell City Council that we have the 65% to kill annexation… just stop it here… vote no on the ordinance that would annex, involuntarily, the properties that you intend to annex…”
“I am in solidarity with the people in the community who feel that this would be a financial burden on them and I think that to pay more and not get anything from that is wrong… I think that the approach by the city has been inhuman… this is not the way we’re accustomed to operating in the city of Bloomington, in the county of Monroe, in the state of Indiana… this is not how we Hoosiers like to conduct ourselves…”
With the Bloomington Common Council next meeting to discuss annexation on August 4th, the MCRAA encourages county residents to reach out with any questions or concerns they may have.
Margaret Clements directed those interested to the MCRAA email address at [email protected] .
