This just in: Today a Wake County State Superior Court ruled against the city of Asheville’s attempt to abolish Sullivan Acts II and III, passed in 2005 by the state General Assembly after the dissolution of the water agreement between Asheville and Buncombe County. Those acts prohibit Asheville from charging higher water rates to customers outside city limits, a move that City Council has called inequitable and inconsistent with the terms that other N.C. cities operate under.
The judgement grants requests by both the General Assembly and Buncombe County to dismiss the lawsuit.
Asheville city spokesperson Lauren Bradley released an e-mail late this afternoon that read, in part:
“The City of Asheville today expressed disappointment over a ruling issued by State Superior Court Judge Howard Manning, Jr. in a case challenging local laws known as the Sullivan Acts on constitutional grounds.”
The statement goes on to say that City Council will decide whether or not to appeal the decision, and that the city’s legal counsel will make no further comment at this time.
– Brian Postelle, staff writer
