The Orrville Town Council voted to extend its town limits by a mile in every direction on Oct. 7.
The next step in adding land to the east Dallas County town of 150 is unclear.
Two council members voted against the annexation and two voted in favor, with Orrville Mayor Louvenia Lumpkin breaking the tie in favor of annexing property adjacent to the town limits for a mile in every direction, according to Town Councilman Tim Frasier.
Frasier said he voted against the measure.
“If property owners want to be annexed and understand what goes with it, I have no problem with it,” Frasier said. But he said the property owners he has spoken to in the areas adjacent to the town limits are not in favor of the annexation and didn’t know it was coming.
Frasier said the area south of the town limit is populated, but the land east, west and north of Orrville is sparsely populated timberland and farmland.
Frasier said Lumpkin presented a petition with what she said was 43 names of property owners in favor of being annexed into Orrville. Frasier said he has asked for a copy of the petition to verify the names, but he has not received it.
Lumpkin has not responded to repeated requests for comment from the Selma Sun.
The Alabama League of Municipalities handbook says there are three ways for a town the size of Orrville to annex property.
The first option is to ask the Alabama Legislature to pass a local bill bringing the property into the town. This is the only option that does not require consent from property owners, according to the handbook.
Option Two is for at least 60% of the landowners in the property in question to sign a petition requesting to be annexed. The probate judge would then hold an election involving all the property owners in the areas to be annexed.
With the third option, if all the property owners involved in the annexation consent, and if their property is contiguous to the town limit, they could be brought into the town by a vote of the town council.
A fourth option for annexation is available only for cities of 25,000 or larger.
Orrville has an 8-mil property tax, according to Frasier. The town has no police or fire department, but it does provide garbage pickup, he said.
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