Now they’re figuring out taxes
With four buildings, a public meeting place, a picnic area, a public toilet and gardens, Mountainside Village may be Gilmer County’s newest municipality.
“We are hoping it will go on and go on for generations in this spot,” Evi Lacey said.
Mountainside Village’s founders, Evi Lacey, Haddon Lacey, Harvey Bogue and Carter Bogue are all under the age of 11.
“I’m the oldest,” Carter Bogue, 10, said. He’s also the mayor.
“He literally stayed up morning to evening, dragging this wood bit by bit from that gate to this area,” Evi Lacey said of the cabin Carter Bogue built.
Mountainside Village has been a year in the making for this enterprising city council.
It’s a place of high ideals. Preserving nature, forming a happy and loving community, kindness to animals and kindness to people are all part of the town’s principles, its founders said.
“Take a seat at the picnic table,” Haddon Lacey said.
With this commitment to hospitality and friendship, their town has flourished.
“Happiness is the best thing” about Mountainside Village, Harvey Lacey said.
From ideas like these and with hard work, the residents have built something to be proud of.
The residents of Mountainside Village have also discovered that building a town isn’t just about making your own house.
It’s also about rules, taxes, project planning and fines.
“If anyone breaks the laws or does anything like being mean to anyone, they’re gonna have a talking-to with Carter,” Evi Lacey said.
The residents of Mountainside Village have recently been debating taxes.
If the village could have some small outdoor lights, it would help create a cheery atmosphere and beautify public property. But, lights cost money.
At first, their city council considered making a $5 monthly tax to buy the lights. Public opinion was against it.
“That’d be a lot,” Evie Lacey said of the proposed tax.
They settled for a compromise of $2 per month.
To get the money, “We decided to do jobs,” Haddon Lacey said.
The town’s four residents will be able to increase their city budget to $8 a month.
But as of writing, no one has paid their taxes yet. Town residents have agreed to start paying taxes once more improvements to the town have been built.
“We’re still working on it, but we’re gonna pay,” Carter Bogue said.
Under his leadership, town laws and ordinances are coming into place. It’s a $2 fine to litter, chop down a tree or kill an animal. Killing a skunk is a $15 fine because of the smell.
Exceptions have been made for killing bugs and for deer hunting.
“If you saw a big buck, you could kill it,” Carter Bogue said.
But these rules remain the subject of debate.
“You can’t kill a buck,” Evi Lacey said.
Already, these laws have been put to the test. Another child entered the community and cut down a tree, Evi Lacey said. For now, he’s refusing to pay the $2 fine.
“Next time I see him, I’m gonna have to talk to him,” she said.
Just like Gilmer County’s city councils and Board of Commissioners, creating rules that fit Mountainside Village’s community needs is an ongoing process involving complex debate between interested citizens.
“We can do almost anything if we work together, work hard and put our mind to it,” Carter Bogue said.