After months of appearing on agendas, a request for de-annexation from the city was denied by the Tallulah City Council (TCC) during its regular meeting Thursday night.
The TCC voted 3-2 to deny a request from Roosevelt and Terry Washington to de-annex from the Tallulah city limits their property at 123 Savanah Drive.
Led by District 5 City Councilman Toriano Wells, two other dissenting votes came from Carla Turner-Harris (D3) and Marjorie Day (D4), while Joseph Scott (D1) and Lisa Houston (D2) each voted in favor of the request.
Wells said he was dismayed with the couple originally asking for permission to leave the city limits while citing costs of more than $100,000 they said would need to be paid by the city to extend sewer and other utilities to the property, only to later reveal they intended to use the property as a farm. During a TCC meeting in December, the owners said City of Tallulah laws excluding the ownership of livestock are keeping them from operating as a farm on their property.
"We need people to state the truth," Wells said during Thursday's meeting, also referring to the granting of any de-annexations by the TCC as a "slippery slope" for the city. The council voted down the request after also hearing from numerous Tallulah residents speaking in favor of denying the request at a public hearing on the matter held in December.
In other business, the TCC tabled a request by Mayor Charles Finlayson to approve the appointment of James A. Martin to the vacant seat representing the city on the board of the Vicksburg Tallulah Regional Airport. Wells also led the charge against the mayor's request to approve his nominee, asking instead that each councilperson have the opportunity to present his or her own nomination, prior to approving a new board member.
Wells also entered a motion, and saw a 4-1 approval, for a plan to address grievances by city employees before termination or after a termination alleged to be unfair. The council approved the motion to enter into future discussions on a policy for the matter. As of now, employees may be terminated from positions without a formal process for stating any grievances, per State of Louisiana guidelines.
