CASSELBERRY, Fla.,None — Ten neighborhoods claim Casselberry is forcing them to join that city. They're outside city limits, but pay Casselbery for its water service.
But as WFTV found out, the city is forcing residents to sign an agreement to be annexed if they want water service.
Mary Bell lives in unincorporated Seminole County, but she pays the city of Casselberry for her water. And she said that's all she wants from the city.
"I don't think that we should be annexed into the city," Bell said. "We should have the right to make our own decisions and not be governed by the city."
But that's exactly what Casselberry is forcing some residents to agree to. Anyone who signs up for water service is required sign a voluntary petition to be annexed.
Attorney Damon Chase is representing a woman who recently bought a foreclosed home. She can't finish remodeling it because she refused to sign the agreement.
Casselberry in turn refused to turn on her water. Now, she's suing the city.
"That's extortion, so if you don't sign it, you don't get water," Chase said. "In a situation when they're providing services to people who are not contiguous to the city limits, there is no way they can require annexation."
At Casselberry City Hall, the city attorney told WFTV that no one could answer why the city is forcing people to sign the agreement because of the lawsuit.
Chase argues that Casselberry signed a contract when it bought out the previous utilities decades ago -- obligating itself to provide service.
Simply put, the city has no right to force people to sign an agreement, Chase argues. Now the HOAs of the 10 neighborhoods plan to join the lawsuit.
Right now, 40 percent of Casselberry's water customers live outside city limits -- about 6,000 people.
WFTV
