If you live in New Hope and have opinions about incorporation, Tony Hannah wants to hear from you.

Hannah is one of a group of residents of the New Hope community who want to incorporate. Friday morning he told The Dispatch the time is ripe to take the next step and put the idea before the public.

To that end, he and fellow incorporation advocate Caleb Pounders are organizing a public meeting, set for 6 p.m. on Feb. 12 at the New Hope Community Center.

Hannah said he and Pounders will attend, and he has invited District 3 Supervisor Andy Williamson — whose district includes New Hope — as well as Board of Supervisors President Trip Hairston.

All are welcome, Hannah said, and the floor will be open for questions and comments.

“We want to hear from everybody, whether it’s good, bad or ugly,” Hannah said. “We’re welcoming all input from everybody, whether they’re for it or against it.”

The incorporation effort is driven by a desire to avoid annexation by the city of Columbus, as well as an effort to better recruit businesses and qualify for government grants.

Columbus is looking at annexing two areas east of the city limits, but neither is within the New Hope area.

Hannah said he hopes to nail down which people in what areas are interested, with the goal of setting tentative boundaries.

“We’re going to try to get people’s addresses and stuff who might want to be included so we can narrow down the borders of what we’re wanting to incorporate,” Hannah said. “… We’re going to try to answer everybody’s questions, so (residents) can make a good, informed decision.”

He said he’s trying to work out a way to stream the meeting for people who can’t attend in person.

Based on the input received from the meeting, Hannah said some proposed boundaries will be drawn, with a central area around the Piggly Wiggly, 3610 New Hope Road, and potentially reaching as far as Highway 182 and the state line.

That’s just the first step in a process that could take several years. According to the Secretary of State’s website, citizens must submit to Lowndes County Chancery Court a petition signed by two-thirds of registered voters in the proposed municipality. The petition must lay out the boundaries of the proposed city, designate a name, identify the number of inhabitants and calculate the assessed value, among other things.

Williamson said he’s neutral on the idea, at least for now.

“I think the movement to incorporate should come from within the community, and now we have that,” Williamson said. “(Hannah and Pounders) have rallied people, and that’s what should happen. If it’s the people’s will to do this, I will support it.”

Hairston said he planned on being there, but mostly intended to listen.

“I’d just like to hear the interest,” Hairston said. “The board of supervisors don’t have any say-so in the process. It’s up to the people inside the lines that are drawn, because it’s going to affect their taxes and the services they have.”

Hairston said the people inside the prospective city need to understand what they’re getting themselves into.

“What does being incorporated mean?” Hairston said. “What services are going to be offered? If I’m opening a business there, I’m going to be thinking about what it does to my tax structure. If I own property, I’m going to owe more taxes than just county ad valorem (property taxes).”

If incorporated, New Hope would become the fifth such community in Lowndes County, along with Columbus, Artesia, Caledonia and Crawford.
For more information on the meeting, contact Hannah at (662) 251-4782.

Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.