Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
They Wanted to Save Their 119-Year-Old Village. So They Got Rid of It. [View all]
From https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/us/amelia-ohio-dissolve.html
They Wanted to Save Their 119-Year-Old Village. So They Got Rid of It.
A village of 5,000 people outside of Cincinnati revolted against a 1 percent income tax, voting instead to dissolve the town. Credit... Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times
A feud over local taxes turned into a referendum on government itself. But Election Day left residents as divided as ever.
Sarah Mervosh
Nov. 26, 2019
AMELIA, Ohio — There were allegations of suspicious political donations and rumors about fake social media accounts. Protesters wore T-shirts that said “Stop the tyranny!” At one point, a former official was escorted out of a public meeting in handcuffs.
For more than a year, the residents of Amelia, just outside Cincinnati, have been consumed by a fiery debate over a proposal to impose a new local tax of just 1 percent. This month, voters found a way around the problem — by getting rid of their 119-year-old village altogether.
In some ways, the dramatic move, which takes effect this week, reflects the frugal, small-government mind-set that permeates Amelia, a conservative community of 5,000 people where the median household income is $61,500. Many residents are reluctant to hand over any more of their paychecks to the government, even the one that picks up their leaves in the fall and plows snow from their streets through the winter.
[...]
A village of 5,000 people outside of Cincinnati revolted against a 1 percent income tax, voting instead to dissolve the town. Credit... Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times
A feud over local taxes turned into a referendum on government itself. But Election Day left residents as divided as ever.
Sarah Mervosh
Nov. 26, 2019
AMELIA, Ohio — There were allegations of suspicious political donations and rumors about fake social media accounts. Protesters wore T-shirts that said “Stop the tyranny!” At one point, a former official was escorted out of a public meeting in handcuffs.
For more than a year, the residents of Amelia, just outside Cincinnati, have been consumed by a fiery debate over a proposal to impose a new local tax of just 1 percent. This month, voters found a way around the problem — by getting rid of their 119-year-old village altogether.
In some ways, the dramatic move, which takes effect this week, reflects the frugal, small-government mind-set that permeates Amelia, a conservative community of 5,000 people where the median household income is $61,500. Many residents are reluctant to hand over any more of their paychecks to the government, even the one that picks up their leaves in the fall and plows snow from their streets through the winter.
[...]
More at link.
6 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
