Saturday, June 23, 2012

2012 YS Cost of Living Study Available

 
Declining and aging population, high taxes and housing costs... Read the James A. McKee Association's 2012 Cost of Living Report here and annex here.




Image provided by lumaxart.com. Used with permission.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I suspect there will be little or no interest in this study. Most people who consider it at all will want to have the information spoon fed to them. If anyone attempts to interpret the data for public consumption they and the study are likely to be accused of bias (i.e. there's no population decline really, it just the absence of Antioch students, etc.).
The James A. McKee Group deserves a lot of credit for having the updated study done. It is valuable information which can be used to make wise personal and governance decisions, but I'm not hopeful.

Karen Wintrow said...

There is actually interest in this study and appreciation to the McKee Group for again doing this work. I believe that most folks recognize that these trends are not going in the right direction and many of us are working to reverse those trends by attracting visitors, new residents and new businesses. Trends that have been building for decades can’t be reversed overnight, especially in a recession.

I do want to make two important points regarding the study though. First, without a public services comparison, there is no way to know if Yellow Springs provides services that the comparative communities don't that not only enhance the quality of life but reduce out of pocket expenses to citizens. Second, with changes at the State including the reduction in the Local Government Fund and the elimination of Estate Tax as a revenue source, communities are losing millions of dollars that they will need to replace. I expect that the level of taxation will increase in most, if not every, community in the State bringing the level of taxation closer and perhaps even surpassing Yellow Springs. And if tax increases are voted down, service levels will be dramatically cut requiring more out of pocket expenditures for citizens.

Anonymous said...

I rest my case. Isn't it interesting that a council person would be the first to try to discredit the study.

Anonymous said...

Would Ms. Wintrow list exactly which services the Village of Yellow Springs provides to citizens that enhance the quality of life and also reduce the cost of out of pocket expenses to them?

Anonymous said...

http://yellowsprings45387.com/forum/messages/10849.html