HEINUS – DETROIT The Michigan town of Highland Park has decided to remove street lights to save the municipality money. The struggling town outside Detroit will physically remove 1,000 of its 1,500 streetlights. Other towns across the country are also feeling the pinch of tough economic times. Some ways towns are coping:
Oswepo, Indiana: This former industrial town along Lake Michigan has declared itself illegal and all its citizens convicted felons. Because of this the town will reportedly receive massive state and Federal government law enforcement subsidies required to incarcerate the large numbers of criminals. Town manager Gerry Mongrieff says he and his lawyer found an obscure Indiana state law that prohibits convicted felons from congregating in large numbers. And Mongrieff pulled in Federal money by also naming Oswepo’s citizens suspected terrorists. The town has brokered a deal with Texas-based Key Link Corporation, a private firm that specializes in for-profit prisons, to use citizens current homes as “detached prison cell blocks.” Thus, townspeople will serve their terms in their own homes and those with jobs can retain them as part of Key Link’s work release program. “Key Link makes a nice profit from all that government money and we now have a town that works,” Mongrieff says. “It’s a win-win.”
Cambria, Maine: Facing a steep deficit in town finances, the town council recently sold the town to the Northern Shield Paper company. Cambria will become a company town and will reportedly be run like a 19th century logging camp. According to a Northern Shield Paper press release, “All town residents will work in the nearby Maine woods and will return home to hearty one-pot meals in the mess hall. Residents will find a wide variety of approved goods available in the company store and will have the freedom to self-diagnose and treat any medical problems using inexpensive first aid kits supplied with laminated instructional cards.”
Lake Wissimee, Florida: It’s not just rust-belt northern towns feeling squeezed, this gated community near Orlando has been forced to cut back programs for its residents. Community educational offerings like “Finding a luxury car interior that works for you” and “Assembling your tennis ensemble” have been eliminated. In addition to cuts, the town has instituted revenue programs, including an indentured servant effort in which service people such as domestic help and gardeners can “sign on” for a multi-year contract at a fixed price and live in the town’s attractive barracks zone. Workers are expected to be on the job seven days a week, but are provided with free fast food and Spanish language TV. “We love having our service people and want to keep them,” said town CEO Ravis Bone, “This program provides workers with an assured job, while at same time keeping the cost down for our residents. Plus, our workers can feel safe in the barracks zone inside their very own security fence.”
(Street image by David Shankbone)
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