By Staff
There is rarely anything wrong with taking your time to make a big decision - especially when it affects hundreds of people.
Brewton city officials, after hearing two weeks of concerns and questions about a proposed annexation plan, have decided to slow their timeline for the proposal.
Rather than rush the plan toward spring approval by the state Legislature, city officials told a packed house at a public hearing Tuesday that they will take some time to listen to what residents have to say - and incorporate that feedback into a new plan.
The council had proposed annexing 8.62 square miles of county land, mainly north of Brewton, an addition that would bring about 1,300 new residents into the city limits.
But many county residents are concerned about the effect that will have on them - and especially on county schools.
As Mayor Ted Jennings admitted, city officials simply had not considered the impact of moving students from one school district to the other.
The original plan is not set in stone, Jennings and other city leaders repeated last week.
We're glad that they are open-minded enough to consider all of the impacts of their decision.
We continue to believe that, in the long run, annexation of parts of the county into the city limits of Brewton will be a wise decision as we anticipate growth in our community.
But we also support the need to take that plan slowly and make the best decision for everyone in our community.