STORM2K

KILLINGTON, Vermont (AP) -- Voting with a thunderous "aye," residents endorsed a plan Tuesday for this ski resort town to secede from Vermont and become a part of New Hampshire instead.

The overwhelming voice vote opened the next chapter in what could be a long and costly push to join New Hampshire, 25 miles to the east.

Ultimately, the vote could prove to be only symbolic. State lawmakers in New Hampshire and Vermont will have the final say. And Vermont legislators said secession will probably be voted down.

Town officials said about two-thirds of the 200 to 300 people who attended the town meeting supported secession.

The main source of discontent is Vermont's new system of financing education, adopted in 1997 on orders from the state Supreme Court. It dramatically increased property taxes in wealthy communities like Killington.

Secession activists say Killington's restaurants, inns and other businesses send $20 million a year to Montpelier in sales, room and meal taxes, while the state returns just $1 million in municipal and education aid to the town of roughly 1,000 residents.

"The state is treating us like a cash-cow," said David Lewis, town manager.

Town officials will now draft a petition to present to New Hampshire Gov. Craig Benson and the state's Legislature. Lewis said town officials want New Hampshire's approval before approaching Vermont's lawmakers.

My mother told me about this, this afternoon. Of course, I heard of Killington, Vermont, but for some reason it isn't in my atlas. Looking online now, I can see it is about 60 miles due north of the Massachusetts border.

The 25 miles area of land to the west of the New Hampshire border will have to be considered New Hamsphire, too. How interesting the state line will be.

i have never heard ot a town seceding from one state and joining another.

As I understand it, Killington was originally chartered as a town BY New Hampshire in 1761(?)...well before Vermont became a separate state.

This should be an interesting thing to watch...

I wonder if they think that NH is going to give them a full return on their tax revenues?
That's life, Killington!

Actually NH is a very low tax state. There is no sales tax or income tax. Property taxes are relatively higher as well as rooms & meals tax. But they make quite a bit of revenue from liquor sales. All liquor is sold through state run stores.

isobar wrote:Actually NH is a very low tax state. There is no sales tax or income tax. Property taxes are relatively higher as well as rooms & meals tax. But they make quite a bit of revenue from liquor sales. All liquor is sold through state run stores.

.....and the cost of property in general in New Hampshire and at least Massachusetts, in southern New England has skyrocketed in the last several years.