New Rome, Ohio
|
|
New Rome was a small village incorporated in 1947 on the west side of Columbus, Ohio in Franklin County, where it had occupied little more than a three-block stretch of West Broad Street (U.S. Highway 40). It had long been the target of scorn and criticism from Central Ohio residents, state officials, and even national media, due to decades of harassing motorists in one of the worst speed traps in the United States and the internal corruption of its local government. In 2004, the village was ordered legally dissolved by a Franklin County court judge, and its residents, land and assets were made part of Prairie Township.
| Contents |
History
The New Rome speed trap
New Rome police had systematically taken advantage of the village's sudden drop in posted speed along the busy thoroughfare of West Broad Street to pull over thousands of motorists, raising nearly $400,000 annually from frequently trivial traffic citations. Nearly all of this money was funneled back into the police force, which almost exclusively dealt with traffic violations and so essentially existed to fund itself. The 60-resident village had as many as 14 policemen, with the Village Council wanting more. Many local business owners complained that customers were being driven away by the village's reputation, and there were many reports of arbitrary and even abusive conduct at the hands of the New Rome police, who even ventured into surrounding jurisdictions to arrest people over unpaid traffic tickets.
The Ohio Department of Transportation eventually decided that New Rome's lower speed limit was inconsistent with state law guidelines. The New Rome police force itself was suspended by the village in 2003 when its chief resigned, shortly after the village's mayor's court was abolished by the state, and so the speed trap came to an end.
Theft and misuse of funds and equipment
New Rome also had longstanding problems with internal corruption. Several past New Rome officials (including a past police chief) were caught stealing thousands in public funds; others (including a past mayor) resigned after misuse of village credit cards came to light. $120,000 was stolen from New Rome over the course of a decade according to the Ohio State Auditor, who also concluded that the village's poor accounting practices made continuing theft likely. Mayor's court records were also reported to have been destroyed and falsified. A federal grant to the village in 1996 to fight purportedly rising burglaries, vandalism, and gang activity was instead used for traffic enforcement. In 2003, the New Rome police had their access to a State Highway Patrol driver identification database revoked because of misuse against the political rival of a councilmember.
Election misconduct
In 2002, after the state-certified election of a new reformist mayor by New Rome residents, the unelected Village Council refused to recognize him and claimed that the old mayor (to whom most of the Council were related) was still in office. The controversy soon broadened into a question of who was even legally on the Council, as none of the councilmember appointments had been registered with the state as required by law. New Rome had typically not even bothered with elections in the past, and many officials, including past mayors, had simply "reappointed themselves." The positions of half of the sitting councilmembers were eventually invalidated by the Franklin County prosecutor because they were not legally appointed, but village positions continued to be claimed by those without the legal right to do so.
The dissolution of New Rome
After further investigation of New Rome's history of misconduct, the Ohio Attorney General concluded that it should be dissolved, though its residents had voted against dissolution in 2003. At the Attorney General's urging, the Ohio General Assembly passed a law later that year primarily targeted at New Rome, that allowed for the dissolution of a village that had fewer than 150 people, provided little or no public services and had a pattern of wrongdoing or incompetence. On December 1, 2003, the Attorney General filed suit for New Rome's dissolution in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. The complaint cited New Rome for 23 counts of failure to follow state election requirements since 1988, as well as for its failure to file a tax budget.
The village officials did not contest these allegations, but instead challenged the dissolution statute itself as contrary to the home rule provisions of the Ohio Constitution. Judge David Cain upheld the constitutionality of the statute and granted summary judgment to the State of Ohio on July 30, 2004. "When the electorate allows key offices to go vacant for unreasonable amounts of time and allows other conditions...to cause ruin and decay," Cain wrote, "it can easily be inferred that this small group of local citizens has abandoned any right it had to operate a local government unit. The corporate powers have already been surrendered. The body is already dead. The statute merely provides for a decent burial." Judge Cain granted the order to formally dissolve New Rome on August 9, 2004, and also ordered the clearing of all unpaid traffic tickets and all drivers licenses suspended by the village. No appeal was filed by the September 9 deadline, and so New Rome was irrevocably absorbed into Prairie Township.
Last recorded statistics of the former village of New Rome
Geography
OHMap-doton-New_Rome.png
Location of New Rome, Ohio
New Rome was located at 39°57'6" North, 83°8'32" West (39.951589, -83.142253)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village had a total area of 0.044 km² (0.02 mi²), none of which was covered by water.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 60 people, 27 households, and 14 families residing in the village. The population density was 772.2/km² (1,993.4/mi²). There were 27 housing units at an average density of 347.5/km² (897.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.33% White, and 1.67% Asian. 5.00% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 27 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 29.6% were married couples living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.1% were non-families. 40.7% of all households were made up of individuals, none of which had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the village the population was spread out with 30.0% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 38.3% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 5.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $19,583, and the median income for a family was $17,500. Males had a median income of $27,917 versus $11,500 for females. The per capita income for the village was $12,983. 18.5% of the population and 18.8% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 23.1% of those under the age of 18 and none of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
External links
- http://www.newromesucks.com —an anti-New Rome activist's site that received national media attention and whose publicity many consider to be responsible for New Rome's downfall. Includes stories of dealings with New Rome police, as well as many news links documenting New Rome's decline.
- "Merchants May Punch Town Ticket (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-01-29-speedtrap-usat_x.htm)," USA Today, Jan. 29, 2003.
- Court decision granting dissolution of New Rome (http://wbns.static.worldnow.com/images/incoming/New%20Rome.pdf), by Judge Cain, Court of Common Pleas, Franklin County Ohio, Civil Division