At its August meeting, the Hamilton County Libertarian Party unanimously adopted the following statement in regards to the City of Chattanooga’s proposed annexation plan:

In recent months, the City of Chattanooga has begun to take steps to forcibly annex communities at the perimeter of the City. Despite widespread and vocal opposition, there have been no signs that the City intends to alter its course.

At this time, the City of Chattanooga is unable to provide adequate services to its citizens; enlarging its service area will only exacerbate this problem. Property owners in the areas that the City proposes to annex should not be compelled to subsidize an already poorly run city government without their consent.

The Hamilton County Libertarian Party opposes all forced annexation; no area should be annexed into a municipality without the approval of the citizens that will be directly impacted. Forced annexation is a egregious violation of the rights of citizens and is contrary to the principles upon which our nation was founded. It is unethical for a government to impose itself upon citizens that had no hand in its election. Annexation without representation or invitation is tyranny.