Oral arguments are scheduled Thursday morning at the Indiana Supreme Court over annexation remonstrance waivers.
The waivers are agreements in which property owners gave up their right to oppose annexation in exchange for city services, such as sewer and water. The General Assembly passed legislation in 2019 that retroactively canceled most waivers.
State law allows 65 percent of residents in an area to file petition signatures to void annexation.
Five of seven areas approved for annexation by the Bloomington City Council successfully filed petitions to stop annexation.
Counting all the waivers makes a big difference. It would allow all but two areas to be annexed.
Here are the certified annexation remonstrance results and petition rate:
Area 1A 61% Annexed, unless appealed in court by residents
Area 1B 58% Annexed, unless appealed in court by residents
Area 1C 71% Annexation Voided
Area 2 72% Annexation Voided
Area 3 67% Annexation Voided
Area 4 71% Annexation Voided
Area 5 67% Annexation Voided
Annexation remonstrance results and petition rate with all waivers:
Area 1A 38% Annexed
Area 1B 31% Annexed
Area 1C 4% Annexed
Area 2 35% Annexed
Area 3 50% Annexed
Area 4 60% Annexed, unless challenged in court by residents
Area 5 52% Annexed, unless challenged in court by residents
The city took the case to court, but the judge said the state may withhold, grant or withdraw powers as it sees fit and that the city waited too long to act on the waivers.
Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson said any entity that derives power from the state – such as, schools, counties, or townships -- should be interested in the case.
“That's actually the case that's very deeply concerning to me and to many others, that if in our state, we cannot depend on the validity of a legal contract, what are we standing on,” she said.
The state Supreme Court hearing is scheduled at 10 a.m.
Read more: Bloomington's annexation quest: what's at stake
In another case, the state Court of Appeals ruled against the city in the annexation of western Areas 1A and 1B. The city is also seeking to transfer this case to the Indiana Supreme court.
