Mayor Bob Massengill said Tuesday that the most important facetof talks about the annexation is going to be education for allthose affected.

“This situation is new to us, but it’s not a new thing,” hesaid. “Several cities of our size have recently annexed. Our lastmajor annexation was almost 35 years ago, and meanwhile all theseother cities are on their second or third annexation sincethen.”

Massengill went on to list several cities in Mississippi thathave recently been through the annexation process, as well as somethat are in talks now. Oxford, McComb, Southaven, Madison,Ridgeland and Hattiesburg were all on the list, including 21others.

“And that’s not even including the smaller towns, like Wesson,”he said. “We feel that for Brookhaven to continue to grow andprosper, we’ve got to move forward.”

Massengill said he knows there are people who have objections tothe annexation, and that it is their prerogative to feel thatway.

“But I hope that those who have been opposed will approach thiswith an open mind,” he said. “I’d really like for them to let usshow them the benefits of being part of the city. If we don’t grow,we’re just backing up.”

Some of the objectors have expressed problems with the beliefthat taxes will go up. Massengill, however, said some of theirconcerns are unfounded.

“We will do everything in our power to maintain the millagerate,” he said. “We’re going to fight to keep people’s taxesdown.”

Massengill pointed out that the annexation area is alreadypaying city school taxes.

“There have been some miscommunications on the tax issue,” hesaid. “Fifty-eight percent of the school tax is what the city taxis. All it’s going up is 33.71 mills.”

Expressed another way, annexation area residents could multiplythe assessed value – which is printed on tax notices – of theirproperty times .03771 to determine their additional taxes afterbeing taken into the city. Annexation area residents are alreadypaying county and city school district taxes, so they are notinvolved in calculating any additional tax obligation.

Lincoln County Tax Assessor-Collector Nancy Jordan said theannexation would affect all forms of property, including car tagsand other items. She said her office is available to discussannexation’s impact on property taxes.

Paying more in taxes will be offset for quite a few residents inthe annexation area by the fact that their water rates will go downif they’re receiving city water services. Also, the fire ratingwill go from the current 10 to around a six, which will affectinsurance rates for those being annexed into the city.

Other concerns of some protesters center around the schooldistricts. Some annexation area residents believe they will have tosend their children to different schools, but Massengill said thatis absolutely not an issue.

“There will be no change in the school districts, nor are thereplans of any changes,” he said. “As a matter of fact, that wouldn’teven be allowed.”

The mayor and city department heads met Tuesday morning todiscuss possible issues and future plans for the city, as well asstaffing for the annexed areas. Massengill said the overall feelingat the meeting was positive.

“The idea was to bring them up to date on what to expect, aswell as to discuss possible equipment and personnel needs,” hesaid. “There really didn’t seem any other great concerns on theirparts, but we do know we want to hire some more city employees andthat we want to find quality people.”

Over the next few days, Massengill will be riding with PublicWorks Director Steve Moreton and Street Department SuperintendentJimmy Griffin to determine where the exact city limits will be.

“We’ll be looking for where to put additional street signs, aswell as city limit signs. Sometimes we’ll just be moving them downthe street, but sometimes we’ll be putting up whole new ones,” hesaid. “And within a few days after that, I’ll be going with (PoliceChief) Pap Henderson and (Fire Chief) Bob Watts to show them theboundaries.”

Currently it looks like the annexation will take effect May 6 ifobjectors do not file for a rehearing. The city is to providepolice and fire protection within 10 days of that date.

Massengill also spoke to the commerce industry as it stands inBrookhaven. He said one of the most positive aspects is that theannexation pushes the population above 10,000 people, whichattracts more national retailers and other industries.

“It has looked like Brookhaven wasn’t growing when you looked atthe numbers,” said Massengill. “Some companies won’t even look atyour city as a possibility if you’re not over 10,000, but now we’reon the radar screen.

“Besides the fact that we have sound business already and abusiness park on the way, I think we’ll find this is the best thingthat ever happened to our community,” he continued.

And that, Massengill said, needs to be the focus for everyoneinvolved.

“We want to do what’s best for not only the annexation area, butfor our entire city,” said Massengill. “We want to make sureBrookhaven remains a great place to live.”