The Mobile Chamber has announced its support for annexation and urged the Mobile City Council to authorize a referendum allowing the residents in the proposed annexed areas to vote.

“A city that is not growing is dying, and growing the city through annexation would benefit our entire region and solidify Mobile’s significance as the economic engine of southwest Alabama and the entire Gulf Coast region,” the resolution passed by the Chamber on Wednesday reads.

The chamber cited the city’s population decline and its shift westward over the last decade. From 2010-2020, the Mobile’s population declined by 4.14% and is projected to keep declining, according to U.S. Census data. In each of the four proposed annexation areas, the population grew by 13-14%.

The chamber’s resolution also cited the advantage inherent in Mobile having a population over 200,000. Cities over 200,000 in population are designated as “mid-size” by the federal government and are therefore eligible to receive larger grants in some cases.

The city has cited American Rescue Plan Act funds, which came from the federal government in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, as a reason to grow the population. Mobile received $58.2 million in direct funding from ARPA, whereas Birmingham, which in 2020 had over 200,000 residents, received $142 million in direct ARPA funds.