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RALEIGH – Both sides of the fight over the state's involuntary municipal annexation laws submitted passionate pleas Tuesday as a study commission considered whether to overhaul the system.

Many citizens at the State Capitol Complex said it isn't fair to be annexed if they don't want to be. But city leaders say sometimes, annexation is necessary.

"All citizens of this region utilize and benefit from the services this city provides," Jim Quinn, Wilmington mayor pro-tem, said. "Not all citizens contribute to the cost of these."

Some citizens say they've been hurt by forced annexation.

"I was notified on [Dec.] 29th, of 2008, barely one week ago, that water and sewer were available to tap onto now," Cary resident Don Beal said. "This is five and one half years after we were forcibly annexed."

The commission's meeting room has been filled to capacity for all three meetings with people from both sides of the issue. However, commission members say these two sides aren't getting any closer together.

"They are far apart – but they are talking," commission member and State Sen. R.C. Soles said. "That's always a good sign."

Soles said the challenge is helping the two sides find a middle ground.

"The cities need to have a way to conduct orderly growth, but at the same time, the citizens that are being annexed, brought in, have rights too," Soles, D-Columbus County, said.

For city leaders the argument is clear – they don't want any residents to get something for nothing.

"These donut holes currently are receiving many city services without paying for those services," Latimer Alexander, High Point City Council, said.

But those opposed say their argument is just as clear: They chose to not live in a city, so they should not be forced to become part of it.

And they want the laws to be overhauled, not just tweaked.

"We feel there needs to be a fundamental shift in the details of how we go about performing annexations," commission member Doug Aitken said. "Back to: Why do we do annexations?"

The study commission will have its final meeting on Jan. 22. At that time, the group will decide what recommendations to make to the General Assembly for changing or rewriting the state's annexation laws.