Editing Macks Creek, Missouri (section)

==History==

A post office called Macks Creek has been in operation since 1872.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.postalhistory.com/postoffices.asp?state=MO | title=Post Offices| publisher=Jim Forte Postal History | access-date=8 September 2016}}</ref> The community takes its name from a nearby creek of the same name, which most likely was named after the local Mack or Hack family.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_camden.html |title=Camden County Place Names, 1928–1945 (archived) |publisher=The State Historical Society of Missouri |access-date=8 September 2016 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624071349/http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_camden.html |archive-date=24 June 2016 }}</ref>

In 1997, a state audit of Macks Creek's treasury uncovered major financial woes. Shortly afterward, virtually every town official resigned from office and the city itself declared bankruptcy.<ref>[http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/missouristatenews/story/5A84FF345F6D49E6862575B80013C8EC?OpenDocument  Frankel, Todd C. "Why Missouri's Speed Trap Law Doesn't Work." ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch.'' May 17, 2009.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521123349/http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/missouristatenews/story/5A84FF345F6D49E6862575B80013C8EC?OpenDocument |date=May 21, 2009 }} Retrieved 2009-9-03.</ref>

On August 7, 2012,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.camdenmo.org/uploads/August2012Sample.pdf|title=Sample ballot|language=en-US|publisher=Camden County, Missouri|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019075611/http://www.camdenmo.org/uploads/August2012Sample.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 19, 2014}}</ref> voters approved dissolving the town with 69%<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.camdenmo.org/electionresults/SOVC.pdf|title=Election results|language=en-US|publisher=Camden County, Missouri}}{{dead link|date=September 2023}}</ref> in favor of the motion (above the required amount of 60%).<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.lakenewsonline.com/article/20120809/NEWS/308099993 | title=Macks Creek votes to dissolve | date=9 August 2012 | agency=Lake News Online | access-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203162043/http://www.lakenewsonline.com/article/20120809/NEWS/308099993|archive-date=February 3, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The disincorporation turned out to be a slow and challenging process.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://eu.columbiatribune.com/story/news/local/2012/10/27/macks-creek-dissolution-proving-problematic/49322215007/|title=Macks Creek dissolution proving problematic|date=October 27, 2012|last=Miller|first=Joyce L.|publisher=[[Columbia Daily Tribune]]|access-date=October 11, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231011145737/https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/news/local/2012/10/27/macks-creek-dissolution-proving-problematic/49322215007/|archive-date=October 11, 2023}}</ref>

===Speed trap designation===
{{main|Macks Creek Law}}

For years, Macks Creek had one of the most infamous [[speed trap]]s in the nation, with a strictly enforced {{cvt|45|mph}} speed limit along [[U.S. Route 54 in Missouri|US 54]], which had a {{cvt|55|mph}} speed limit on either side of town. 
In 1995, this practice ended when the state of [[Missouri]] passed a law prohibiting cities and towns from collecting more than 45% of their total revenue from speeding tickets. Macks Creek reportedly had been collecting approximately 85% of its revenue from speeding tickets. The police department later resigned as well as the mayor.<ref>[http://www.ky3.com/home/related/8139717.html Macks Creek rises from bankruptcy, bad reputation | KY3 | Related Content<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209202846/http://www.ky3.com/home/related/8139717.html |date=2008-02-09 }}</ref> In May 2022, [[Reason (magazine)|Reason magazine]] reported that, "If a small town has a law named after it, it's probably not for a good reason. Such was the case with Macks Creek, an obnoxious speed trap that inspired the Missouri legislature to pass the Macks Creek Law in 1995. This bill capped the percentage of annual revenue that towns could generate from ticket fines at 45 percent."<ref name="reason">{{cite web |last1=CIARAMELLA |first1=C.J. |title=11 Insanely Corrupt Speed-Trap Towns |url=https://reason.com/2022/05/08/11-insanely-corrupt-speed-trap-towns/ |website=reason.com |publisher=Reason |access-date=10 May 2022}}</ref>