Testimony heard in Charleston on bill to limit annexation power

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – A state senate committee heard testimony regarding Senate Bill 209, to repeal the process of annexation by minor boundary adjustment.

In West Virginia territory can be annexed if five percent of the residents of the area sign a petition to be forwarded to city council. Then elections can be held to determine if the annexation is approved by the voters. If the proposal is rejected by voters it cannot be put on the ballot for another one year period.

If a petition filed with council members that has 100 percent of the qualified voters in the specified area annexation can be completed by ordinance.

Annexation by minor boundary adjustment can executed by a city council if seven standards are met and the county commission votes to approve. The minor boundary adjustment only requires approval from city council members and the county commission.

In May of 2019, Morgantown city council members proposed annexing 3.8 square miles, about 12,000 people and more than 350 businesses.

Monongalia County resident Michael Callen testified before the committee Tuesday.

“It’s kind of ironic, here in an election year we have to come down here and ask you to protect our right to vote, because that’s what this about,”Callen said,”It’s not so much about annexation, but about the American right of self-determination through voting.”

Callen says it’s important for city leaders to have dialog with citizens about matters like this.

“If a city cannot work out a mutually satisfactory arrangement, whether it’s with citizens or businesses owners and they can’t get five percent of the people to sign a petition to get a vote, should they have the power to deny 100 percent of the people the right to vote,”Callen said,”Morgantown is a textbook example of this.”

The committee did not vote on the measure but agreed to continue debating the issue.