Judge orders dissolution of village of New Rome

COLUMBUS (AP) -- A tiny village notorious for a speed trap that raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in traffic fines every year has been ordered dissolved by a Franklin County judge.
The Court of Common Pleas sided with Attorney General Jim Petro on Friday and agreed that the Village of New Rome, located on the western edge of Columbus, has been operating illegally.
New Rome Mayor Connie Tucker said Friday that she plans to appeal.
A recently passed law allows the state to seek dissolution of villages of fewer than 150 people if the state auditor finds a pattern of wrongdoing or incompetence in the village's operation. Village attorneys have admitted the town has fewer than 150 people, Judge David Cain wrote in his ruling.
The village also admitted it did not pass a tax budget in 2004 and failed to follow election laws.
Defense lawyers had argued that the statute allowing the state to dissolve a village violates a portion of Ohio's constitution that allows municipalities to govern themselves, according to court documents.
But Cain wrote that the people themselves chose to dissolve the village by allowing elected offices to stay vacant and by breaking other state laws.