Opinion ID: 1767459
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: the need for municipal services in the proposed annexation area

Text: Hattiesburg asserts that the area is in need of municipal services and capital improvements. The testimony of various Lamar County residents and experts at trial and many affidavits submitted after the trial supported Lamar County's claim that the residents were satisfied with the services they had and that such services were adequate for the area. The chancellor held that, with the exception of better fire protection, the area proposed to be annexed had adequate services. Because we find no manifest error in the chancellor's findings, we affirm his findings. Extension of the Boundaries of City of Vicksburg, 560 So.2d at 716, Bassett, 542 So.2d at 921, citing McElhaney, 501 So.2d at 403; Enlargement of Boundaries of Booneville, 551 So.2d at 892; Extension of Boundaries of Moss Point, 492 So.2d at 289.
The Lamar County area is now served by several well-organized volunteer fire departments that work closely with each other. Their ability to respond to a major fire is questionable. The area presently has a Class 10 fire rating, while Hattiesburg has a class 5 fire rating for insurance purposes. This factor the chancellor properly considered in Hattiesburg's favor.
The Lamar County area is now served by a sheriff and two deputies who regularly patrol the area. Hattiesburg's witnesses testified that the county sheriff's department was fine for a rural area, but not for an urban area and that the area they proposed to annex was urban and needed the frequent police patrol that only municipal police departments can provide. Many Lamar County residents testified, however, that they were satisfied with the protection provided by the sheriff's department and that the area was not urban and had a very low crime rate. Hattiesburg could probably provide additional police patrol to the area, but is there a present necessity? In the chancellor's opinion, there was not and the lack of evidence demonstrating the inadequacy of the present police protection in the area supports his conclusion.
Lamar County owns five garbage trucks, operates a landfill in the county, and provides once-a-week garbage pick-up. Hattiesburg provides garbage pick-up two and three times a week to its residents. Hattiesburg proposed to provide the area with the same pick-up service as it now provides city residents. Residents in the proposed Lamar County annexation area expressed no desire to have more frequent garbage pick-up and no one presented any evidence to show that the garbage collection in the area was inadequate.
The chancellor found that the streets and roads in the area were adequate and that the maintenance provided by the County was sufficient. This finding is supported by substantial and credible evidence. All witnesses testified that the roads were in good shape. Hattiesburg presented some evidence of drainage problems in the area and overgrown ditches. The objectors admitted that they had had some problems with drainage and overgrown ditches but indicated that they were working to improve the situation.
The proposed annexation area is presently served by several local rural water associations and private enterprises certificated by the Mississippi Public Service Commission. Of the 23 square miles in the proposed Lamar County annexation area, only four square miles are not certificated by the Public Service Commission. Evidence revealed that this system is adequate for domestic water supply. If Hattiesburg were to annex the area, the city could not improve on the water service unless it acquired the private water associations or worked out an agreement with them. As of the time of the trial, Hattiesburg had made no such arrangements with the private water associations and certificated areas. Lamar County provides sewage service to its residents pursuant to a 201 Facilities Plan, a program of the Bureau of Pollution Control and the Environmental Protection Agency in cooperation with the state government in an effort to provide sewer collection and treatment to several areas via a central sewage treatment facility. Those political subdivisions in the area participating in the program include Hattiesburg, Petal, Lamar County, and Forrest County. The city presently collects sewage from the Lamar Park certificated area and the Westover subdivision in Lamar County by agreement between Hattiesburg and the private Lamar County sewage treatment plants. Many residents also have their own septic tanks. Experts testified that the current sewage system was adequate and presented no health problem to the area. Henderson, the sanitarian for Lamar County, testified that the soil allowed sufficient percolation. The chancellor correctly found that there was no credible evidence showing the inadequacy of these systems.