FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Despite several courtroom defeats, opponents of a planned annexation near Fayetteville are not done voicing their opinions.

Fayetteville leaders say the city will annex more than 40,000 people on Sept. 30 -- about the same number of residents who live in the entire city of Wilson.

Dozens of Cumberland County residents, who live in areas Fayetteville wants to annex, protested outside the City Council meeting Monday evening. For more than a year, they fought the annexation. On Friday, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled against them.

Bill Crisp and others opposing annexation say they plan to appeal to the United States Supreme Court.

"The question was asked, 'Why are we so adamant in this fight?' The answer is, you might visualize us hanging in a well by our fingertips," Crisp said. "It's a life or death -- or do or die -- situation."

If they lose, the city of Fayetteville will go through with its biggest annexation ever.

"We want to make sure they know that we are against this totally," said annexation opponent Walter Murphy.

Some city departments started providing services to some neighborhoods last summer. Police, fire and most of the 16,000 trash cans are already in place. The city still needs to hook up sewer lines and hire more public works crews.

Crisp worries most about property taxes, which will run about 60 percent higher.

"When we drop to the bottom line," Crisp said, "we're really talking about money aren't we?"

And that extra cost tests his limits.