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April In Paris With a Surplus

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PARIS - It’s April in Paris and Paris is fat. At a time when many Wisconsin towns are flat broke, this small crossroads community has well over $20 million in the bank. At Tuesday night’s annual town meeting, residents in attendance were well aware of their good fortune. “We don’t pay taxes to the town of Paris,” said Randy Henning with a grin. “And, the town of Paris pays our Kenosha County taxes.” These happy residents don’t live tax free. They do pay school taxes. Still, in a state where many residents feel a pressing tax burden, Paris residents are largely upbeat. The math is in this small town’s favor. There are only 15-hundred residents taking advantage of municipal services here. More importantly, The Pheasant Run Landfill and a small We Energies power plant pump more than $3 million into town coffers annually. As a result, the town is able to bank way more money than it spends. Still, there is a price to pay for the landfill. Seems the gigantic thing can kick up a pretty nasty funk on a hot day. “I smell it when I drive down the road,” said Betty Kidera as she turned up her nose. “I carry little Vicks now in the car in case it gets too much for me.” But overall, most residents feel the exchange of a few stinky days for a few million dollars is a pretty good deal. “Some of our residents that live next to the landfill, they obviously have a disadvantage,” said Klaus Dierks. “But, most of us are quite happy with the arrangement.” One resident here is floating a proposal to have the town take all that money in the bank and divide it up among property owners. That would result in a $23,000 check for each of them. But town fathers know the landfill will eventually be closed and covered over, ending the surpluses. As one resident put it, “When that happens, it will be good to have some money in the bank.”

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