Residents to Mercer County: More services, less taxes.

Another result of the mindless and largely conservative "no tax, no way, no how, no matter what" hysteria.

Cutting jobs, reducing the hours the Mercer County courthouse is open, and freezing salaries may be discussed when the Mercer County board and the county's unionized employees resume contract talks next month.

"I'm sure all these options and scenarios should be looked at and will be looked at," said county board chairman Tom Harris. "I'm sure with whatever option we choose, somebody's going to get hurt and disappointed."

This spring, voters rejected a proposed sales tax that would have been used to help pay for the county's law enforcement operations. The idea was to free up money from the general fund for other uses. County officials had warned that if it failed, layoffs could be an option.