An announcement was made this afternoon by the Gould mayor, the Gould Tax Relief Fund and the Gould Citizens Advisory Council about the IRS claim that the city owes more than $250,000 in back taxes and penalties.
The news is good. There’s a tentative agreement (see jump) with the IRS in which it will suspend efforts to collect back taxes and eventually forgive them if the city continues to pay its current obligations in full and on time.
The Tax Fund raised $10,000 to save the city from foreclosure and the advisory council has likewise been working to solve problems facing the city. For their trouble, a rump group on the city council attempted to make citizen groups illegal, along with meetings between the mayor and such groups. That made Gould into a national news story and a client for the ACLU. Also, two men were arrested for attacking Mayor Earnest Nash. Ultimately, the council repealed the unconstitutinal ordinances.
What we have working here today are the power of community organizing, the majesty of the Constitution and law and the usefulness of negotiation.