“Cash-strapped Youngtown considers disbanding”
“A standing-room-only crowd crammed into a Youngtown meeting room as the town’s leaders debated disbanding their 50-year-old police force.
Some residents yelled at council members. Others wept in the back of the room. The mayor, his temper flaring, threatened to have the chambers cleared.
Three hours later, six police officers left without jobs. Each was given a month’s pay and told to hand over gun and badge.
The December move was a sign of just how desperate things have become in the northwest Valley town, as a budget shortfall endlessly chips away at public services and, perhaps eventually, the town itself.”
“The town could make further budget cuts so steep that most services are gone. It could seek to be annexed by a neighboring city.
Or it could disincorporate, ceasing to exist as its own town and returning to be a piece of Maricopa County.
It’s the first modern Arizona town or city to openly consider calling it quits because of money woes.”
“A town ordinance required that one resident in every home be more than 55 years old and that no one be under 18 years old. In 1998, the town lost a legal battle with the state attorney general and was forced to lift its age restriction.
An influx of young families and children followed. The population doubled from about 3,000 to more than 6,000 over the years, and the town catered to its new residents with playgrounds and youth-sports programs.
Crime rates rose, increasing the demand for police and code enforcement. Officers who had spent much of their time dealing with minor problems were receiving calls for domestic violence, drugs and sex crimes involving minors.
The town’s new residents weren’t as apt to keep neatly manicured lawns and gardens, spurring complaints from longtime residents.
Youngtown’s transition from retirement community to one like any other across the Phoenix area was the tipping point toward its current budget conundrum.”
Damn kids of today. Why can’t they just stay off my lawn.
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