PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A few dozen people attended an event hosted by the city of Palm Beach Gardens on Tuesday night to learn about their effort to annex homes in unincorporated Palm Beach County.
The meeting allowed the city to persuade property owners to join the city as a Political Action Committee called Coalition Against Annexation attempts to convince voters of different, often contradicting, information. Voters, who are registered to vote at about 3,500 pieces of property across five different zones, will decide in five different elections on March 19.
Patricia Goff, who lives in Zone 1, said she thought Tuesday night's meeting was well organized. She said she's received a lot of mail about the election and has been searching for accurate information.
"You gotta decipher what's true to you," Goff said. "Because everybody is different in what they are looking for and what you expect out of life."
She said she saves all the mail regarding election issues and then reads it on Election Day to make a decision.
The two main groups involved in persuading voters are the city of Palm Beach Gardens and the Coalition Against Annexation, which often use conflicting information. For example, the Political Action Committee argues people will see higher property taxes on its website while the city of Palm Beach Gardens argues it would decrease property taxes for about 70% of properties.
Lori LaVerriere, who is a deputy city manager with the city of Palm Beach Gardens, said it's tough to communicate with 8,000 people. She also said the city is competing with misinformation and fear-mongering among opponents like the Coalition Against Annexation.
Melissa Wiegand, who is the co-chair for the Coalition Against Annexation, said the group isn't using fear-mongering but rather telling people the truth. She said she believes the goal is to force people to move out of the neighborhood.
"There are many reasons why the city is lying," Wiegand told WPTV via telephone Tuesday night. "…This thing is filled with holes."
The city of Palm Beach Gardens said it wants annexation to expand its tax base while gaining better efficiency for the services it provides.
A lawsuit is currently challenging the legality of the annexation, specifically for Zone 1. Although the city of Palm Beach Gardens hasn't responded to the lawsuit directly, documents show lawyers are currently arguing if a decision must come before the referendum.