East Hamilton County residents living in areas annexed into the city of Chattanooga without their consent are voicing frustration with an amendment made to the controversial de-annexation bill passed by the Tennessee Senate May 10.
If its companion measure is passed by the Tennessee House of Representatives next year, the bill will give residents in areas annexed by ordinance after 1999 an opportunity to secede. To do so, at least 20 percent of voters in the affected area would need to petition the city for a referendum vote, which would take place during the area’s next general election, according to the process established by the bill.
In previous iterations of the legislation, only the majority of residents in the affected area needed to vote in favor of the referendum. In the amended version passed 29-3 by the Senate, however, the referendum would be opened up to all the voters in the city, instead of only those in the affected area.
The change has come as a disappointment to many in the annexed areas, who are worried the provision would significantly reduce their chances of seceding from the city.
“That would certainly be a slap in the face by the politicians,” said Michael Iorio, a resident of East Brainerd’s Ellington Way subdivision, which was annexed by Chattanooga in 2013. “I don’t think you would have a chance if the whole city’s voting. Why would I vote for someone else to leave if that would mean I have to pay a bigger share of the taxes?”