We haven’t looked in on the doings of the Village Council for a while, so when I saw the article headlined Stormy Meeting, I thought it would be worth exploring. The week before, Council announced it would inaugurate a Business Tax. The revenue from the tax was to be used for fire protection, and was estimated to be $900 per year. The stormy meeting the next week didn’t seem to resolve the issue, so it was decided to hold another meeting! The settlers were so proud that the village was growing, but perhaps they hadn’t thought of the consequences, such as the provision of various services. Then as now, the imposition of a tax was hotly debated but usually inevitable.
Researched & written by Kathryn Auger
