Rural Towns Are Aging, Cash-Strapped and in Desperate Need of Workers - WSJ
Small towns struggle to maintain critical services as public sector employees as leave for better pay and quality of life in larger cities. Regionalization (takeover by a larger municipality) is proposed as a possible solution. WSJ:
The challenge of both finding and affording workers faces small governments scattered around the U.S., and often leaves those still there to pick up the slack. Jessica Jimmo, 32, who grew up in Ashland, is the townโs deputy clerk, assistant librarian and a volunteer firefighter for the Ashland Fire Department, where she serves with family including her mother and sisters. Several other multitasking workers are at least a generation older, including Tarr and David Milligan, 56, who is both a police officer and Ashlandโs town code enforcer.
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โAs you canโt fill positions, youโre going to see more regionalization of services, whether by choice or by force,โ Pelletier said.
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