## Facts

- The City of Jackson adopted an ordinance and petitioned the chancery court to annex approximately 24.25 square miles of adjacent unincorporated territory.
- Residents and landowners in the proposed area objected to annexation.
- Evidence showed Jackson’s population was declining and that substantial vacant land remained within existing city limits.
- Evidence indicated municipal-type services in the proposed area were generally adequate through existing arrangements.
- Witness testimony suggested a primary purpose of annexation was obtaining additional tax revenue from the area’s tax base.
- The chancery court confirmed the annexation of the entire proposed 24.25-square-mile area.
- The objectors appealed the confirmation decree.

## Issues

1. Whether Jackson proved the proposed annexation was “reasonable” under Miss. Code Ann. § 21-1-33, considering the indicia of reasonableness applied in Mississippi annexation review.
2. Whether the chancery court’s findings supporting annexation of the entire area were supported by substantial evidence, given declining population, internal vacant land, adequacy of existing services, and revenue-driven motives.

## Decision

- The Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the chancery court’s decree confirming annexation of the entire 24.25-square-mile area.
- The Court rendered judgment limiting the annexation and deannexing a portion of the territory (described as roughly four square miles), concluding the city failed to justify annexation of the full area as reasonable.
- The Court found the record did not support key chancery findings on need for expansion, need for municipal services, and the balance of burdens on affected property owners.

## Legal Principles

- Annexation, though initiated by municipal legislative action, requires judicial confirmation and must be shown “reasonable” under Miss. Code Ann. § 21-1-33.
- The municipality bears the burden to prove reasonableness under the nonexclusive “indicia of reasonableness,” including need for expansion, path of growth, service needs, financial ability, past service performance, and effects on property owners and other entities.
- Declining municipal population and significant undeveloped land within existing boundaries weigh against a claimed need for expansion.
- Where existing services in the proposed area are adequate, a city must show more than marginal or speculative service benefits to justify annexation.
- A municipality’s prior performance in delivering promised services to previously annexed areas is a significant factor and can undermine reasonableness if poor.
- Seeking additional tax revenue, without a demonstrated municipal service need and a supported plan to provide benefits commensurate with burdens, is insufficient to establish reasonableness.

## Conclusion

The Mississippi Supreme Court held Jackson did not carry its statutory burden to show annexation of the full proposed territory was reasonable, reversed the chancery court’s blanket approval, and rendered relief that curtailed the annexation and deannexed part of the area.


In re Enlargement & Extension of the Mun. Boundaries of the City of Jackson, 691 So. 2d 978 (Miss. 1997)