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The mayor, during his second consecutive day on the witness stand, said opponents have saddled taxpayers with the growing cost of fighting the expansion.
"I think their objection to this annexation is an expensive mistake, and I regret that," Reed told Saltillo's attorney, Jason Herring.
Saltillo is among three main opponents of Tupelo's plan to take in 16.15 square miles of county land. Lee County and the city of Plantersville also are fighting the move in Lee County Chancery Court.
The trial reached its 14th day but started a month-long hiatus after Thursday's testimony. It will resume May 24.
"Taxpayers of Tupelo are financing 100 percent of the city of Tupelo's legal costs in this annexation and 60 percent of Lee County's," Reed added. "That's expensive to the citizens. I regret the loss that this trial has come to. I believe the annexation proposed is reasonable, not a land grab."
The county has spent about $350,000 in legal and consulting fees since 2008 fighting the current annexation attempt, and the city has spent roughly $458,000.
The price goes up when including the city's previous attempt starting in 2004. For that, add $428,316 in city expenses and $617,987 in county expenses.
Costs continue to rise as the trial unfolds.
Herring argued the real financial burden will be suffered by residents in the proposed annexation areas. They'll face higher taxes if the city absorbs them, but not all will benefit from additional municipal services, he said.
He specifically cited one targeted area where the city estimates spending a total of $10,250 in services and facilities over the next five years. Herring suggested it's a rip-off.
"Residents in Area 6 will receive services worth $10,000 but pay taxes of $57,000," he said. "That's a $47,000 difference."
Reed disagreed, saying city residency has numerous benefits beyond the initial capital investments envisioned in the annexation plan. They'll get planning and zoning and protection and voting privileges, among other advantages, he said.
Reed sparred with Herring on a host of other issues related to the city's growth plan, including affordability and feasibility. He also debated county attorney Chad Mask and Plantersville attorney Brian Starling.
Also called to testify Thursday were City Council President Fred Pitts and Tupelo Drainage Task Force Chairman Perry Thomas, who formerly served on the council.
Thomas described the task force's past and current projects, including the $800,000 investment to improve drainage in the Haven Acres neighborhood. Haven Acres was annexed by Tupelo two decades ago.
The testimony highlighted the city's ability to aid all areas within its boundaries, but Mask argued the Haven Acres project took 17 years after annexation to complete.
City attorney Guy Mitchell, however, pointed out the task force wasn't fully formed until 2003. And the Haven Acres project was among its first.
Thomas was the city's second-to-last witness. Its planning expert, Karen Fernandez, is expected to take the stand May 24. Opponents will then be able to call their own witnesses.
Contact Emily Le Coz at (662) 678-1588 or emily.lecoz@djournal.com.
I do not understand why, the Lee county board for voted to match a grant to build a new building in Fairpark, in Tupelo, for The Renasant Center for Ideas ? Is this city tax money or county tax money for this project? If anyone knows please explain it to me!
Someone disagrees with Tupelo and it is an expensive mistake. Kinda one sided thinking to me.
Get the privilege to vote in Tupelo ? What privilege ? Only two groups get candidates in. Both smell, act and look alike. Planning and Zoning ? Who wants one sided planning and zoning ? Heck these folks went into the county to get away from it.
Really the lawyers on either side don't care what happens. They have made this into a fully paid college education/retirement fund for themselves. Tupelo's long term lawyers would fold and go bankrupt without Tupelo's work or at least have to run 25 lawyers off.
I wonder how Tupelo would feel if the county was trying to take back some Tupelo property ? Don't know how that would play out but I would bet they would fight it.
Dog and pony show should be over today. Next week, maybe the county will put on a real trial. Lets see the connections between the proposed annex areas and those in control of Tupelo government.
tupelojoe81: You're EXACTLY right.
JANGA: Isn't that the truth. The story just isn't complete without the most important part, a description of the wardrobe of the participants!
As for who/what is causing all this money to be spent, IT'S THE CITY OF TUPELO! Duh!!
If they weren't trying to make this LAND GRAB, then none of these entities would be forced to spend all this money in legal fees.
The only one who stands to gain in this deal is the City of Tupelo.
The city's own arguments even work against them. They argue that the sewer project that's taken 17 years has taken that long because they just formed the task force in 2003!
So, why did it take them so long to form the task force? If the city was really trying to provide services to their previously annexed area, why did it take them that long to "form the task force" in the first place?
That's an excuse, and a feeble one at that, not a reason.
So, what are they going to do if this annexation passes? Wait 10 years and then "form a task force" to study the issue and then maybe one day provide city services to the newly annexed areas?
This is laughable.
That's like me paying my electric bill for years and not getting electricity. Then when I asked the electric company about it, they say "well we need to build a substation in order to service your address. So we can't provide the service that you're paying for until that substation is built. But you have to keep paying for services that we're unable to provide until we decide to provide them" and then they wait 10 years to build the substation. Then when the utility commission asks them about it they say "well we really wanted to provide the electricity, but it took us 10 years to build the substation so that we could provide it but if you'll let us grab these other 100 addresses, we'll try to do better this time."
All Tupelo cares about is the tax money. PERIOD!
And tupelojoe81 is right, they can't adequately service the area that they have now, yet they want more.
It seems their quest is to "spread mediocrity far and wide" and collect tax money for doing it.
Enough about annexation and land grabbing....What was Mayor Reed wearing?...and how did it compare to the attire of Fred Pitts?
Come on...so many words so little detail!