On Tuesday, the state Court of Appeals delayed the move. The annexation, which affects more than 42,000 Cumberland County residents, was set to take place at midnight.
City leaders plan to file a legal response to the ruling on Wednesday.
The appeals court granted the stay for Keith Kegley and his wife and for the Homebuilders Association of Fayetteville. A Superior Court previously dismissed both of those suits and affirmed the June 30 date for the annexation to become effective.
City Manager Roger Stancil said the stay will ultimately cost current city taxpayers millions of dollars as the city absorbs the cost of having committed city tax dollars and resources to prepare for the annexation.
Additionally, Sprint during the past several weeks has redirected emergency 911 calls to the city's communications center. The process of switching the telephone numbers in the areas proposed for annexation took several weeks to accomplish. Redirecting them back to the county's public safety dispatch center could take about a month.
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