Rebel Yell

Tennesseeans fight back against the conquering cities.

Jesse Walker from the June 1998 issue

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The issue turned out to be moot. Reviled by the political establishment, Public Chapter 98 died on November 19, 1997, when the Tennessee Supreme Court struck it down. The "body of the Act," the court explained, was "broader than its caption," a no-no under the Tennessee Constitution. In other words, when legislators passed the law, they might not have realized what the bill said. Thus, the court declared, it was unconstitutional. The law died, and the young towns disappeared.

But the struggle over annexation isn't dead. Two veterans of last year's fight, Tom and Denise Jeanette, have founded a new lobbying organization, the Tennessee Suburban League. "The cities spend about a million dollars a year lobbying the legislature," says Tom, a computer engineer and 14-year resident of Hickory Hill. "The counties have at least a half-dozen different lobbying organizations. And there's been no one to represent the people--the residents of the rural and suburban areas."

The league wants to limit cities' ability to annex across county lines; to give people the right to vote on whether or not they'll be annexed; to require cities to present a plan to provide services to new territories within five years of annexation; and to preserve the right to a jury trial for citizens suing to prevent an annexation. Denise spends about three days a week in Nashville, "trying to put a human face" on the issue. She reports that legislators have welcomed her input.

Still, the reforms lawmakers are currently considering don't reflect that open spirit. One bill limits annexations across county lines but otherwise leaves the old problems in place. Worse yet, it introduces some new ones. It would require cities and counties to produce 20-year growth plans--a popular nostrum in urban policy circles, and a practical impossibility. It would also saddle cities with "urban growth boundaries." Despite their name, those lines don't restrict the ability of cities to expand; they restrict the right of rural and suburban residents to build on their property. The bill also prohibits rural areas from putting in sewer lines. In the Volunteer State, it seems, sewage systems are for cities only.

The other major bill is a compromise between the cities and the counties. As such, it deals with revenue-sharing issues but leaves residents' concerns mostly unaddressed. It eliminates the right to a jury trial and shifts the burden of proof in court. Cities would no longer have to demonstrate that an annexation is reasonable; plaintiffs would have to demonstrate that it is not reasonable.

"We're taking a balanced view," says Tom Jeanette. "Cities need to be successful, counties need to be successful--and suburban and rural residents have rights that need to be protected. In the past, the answer's always been just to move, but we like the areas we're in. We want to stay put. And fight for what's right."