Fort Shawnee, Ohio -
A Fort Shawnee town hall meeting took place Thursday evening. The first half of the meeting was peaceful, but after the panel opened the floor up to the audience, some tempers could not be controlled.
The Fort Shawnee Village Council was there to urge residents to not dissolve the village into Shawnee Township. They argued their budget fared better than that of the Township. But a member from the Shawnee Township Board of Trustees was there to set the record straight.
Village Council members also brought up the possibility of Lima annexing some of the Fort's industries, which they've tried and failed to do in the past. The audience didn't buy that argument either. One man called it a "scare tactic" and another woman pointed out that there are no industries within the Fort's boundaries that could be annexed.
One reason why some residents might want to dissolve into the Township has to do with the 3.25 mill levy on the ballot, which would make village taxes about nine dollars higher than the Township's. Council members say that's not enough to give up their identity.
