Killington wants to secede from Vermont

KILLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Some Vermont leaders, unhappy with having their taxes quadrupling, are leading an effort to have Killington secede and join with New Hampshire.

Since 1997, when Vermont passed Act 60, taxpayers in property-rich towns like Killington have had to share the cost of educating students in Vermont's poorer communities resulting in their taxes soaring, the Boston Globe reported Sunday.

"I've been a selectman for five years. Usually only one or two people show up for the meetings, but ever since we started talking about seceding from Vermont, our meetings have attracted more and more people," Michael Miller told the Globe. "When the selectmen passed the resolution, everyone cheered."

The resolution to join the neighboring state 25 miles away appears to have widespread support in the ski-resort town, the Globe said.

Killington Selectman Walter J. Findeisen said Killington pays more than $20 million to the state -- $10 million through the statewide property tax and another $10 million in sales and other business taxes -- but gets back less than $1 million to run its elementary school.