DelMarVa Observer - Your Source for News From and About DelMarVa
PORTLAND, OR – What happens when the taxpayers loan a company $10 million and provide another $20 million in other incentives in return for a PROMISED 450 jobs? If you are an Oregon taxpayer and the company is SoloPower, the answer appears … NOT MUCH.
Like the better known case of Solyndra, Oregon taxpayers are waiting to find out if they will ever recover any of their hard earned money after the San Jose, CA based firm has announced that it is closing shop.
We’re Glad Jim Ireton Isn’t a Math Teacher
The newly elected Salisbury city council is on its way to adopting a budget for FY 2014. Included is a tax rate hike of nearly 8% coupled with a DROP in water and sewer rates. One thing that appears to be missing is mayor Jim Ireton’s promised “storm water authority”, now laughingly referred to across the country as the “Rain Tax”.
Newly minted council president Jake Day is backpedaling on his campaign commitment not to support a tax hike. He now claims that he won’t support a tax hike above constant yield. We’ll give him that one (on style) since the net affect of the rate increase should be revenue neutral. We wonder if the people who stayed home at the last election will be as forgiving since a sizable number of them will see their taxes rise?
The section of Ireton’s proposed budget that disturbs us most is a cut in the water and sewer rates. WHAT? A self-identified conservative is against a cut in government fees (water and sewer fees are not really a tax)? Sorry to disappoint, but … YES!
Here’s the problem. Salisbury is showing a sizable surplus in its Water and Sewer Enterprise Fund. HOWEVER, Salisbury is having to PAY TWICE for its failed waste water treatment plant (WWTP). By cutting rates now, the city will have to raise them that much more in the future. The problem is simple. Ireton hopes to justify future general fund tax hikes because he’s decreased the water and sewer rates. Given that Ireton makes Barack Obama look like a Reaganite, he just can’t sit idly by and watch tens of millions sit unspent, even if it is in Salisbury’s best interest. That money needs to be SPENT! Sadly for Ireton, he can’t spend water and sewer money for every fly by night leftist scheme that comes down the pike, even if he thinks that Jake Day will rubber stamp Ireton’s every whim. (The jury is still out on Day, we all know that Laura Mitchell and Shanie Shields will rubber stamp all sorts of craziness.)
SALISBURY, MD – Another questionable real estate deal is catching the eyes of Wicomico County taxpayers. Today the Wicomico County Council is scheduled to vote on the acquisition of 23 acres of land for a new transfer station near Allen.
The purchase price for the property is approximately $150,000. However, the price was originally $250,000 $220,000. The price came down only after the county government was offered nearby parcels at a much lower price. This calls into question the legitimacy of the original appraisal. In addition, there are questions regarding personal ties between the family of the landowners and County Executive Rick Pollitt.
This comes on the heels of the county’s approval of a lease / purchase agreement for new office space for the State’s Attorney’s office. Questions were raised when county purchasing director Rick Konrad informed two bidders that their proposals must meet certain requirements or their proposals would be automatically rejected. The winning bidder did not meet those same requirements.
As in the case of the State’s Attorney office deal, it is expected that the pro-Pollitt majority coalition of council members John Hall, Matt Holloway, Stevie Prettyman, and Sheree Sample-Hughes will approve the purchase.
Ireton, Shields Sworn in for New Terms
SALISBURY, MD – Newcomer Jake Day, along with incumbent Shanie Shields, were sworn-in to the Salisbury city council Monday night. In a surprise move, Day was also elected as council president. Councilwoman Laura Mitchell was elected vice president.
Mayor Jim Ireton was also sworn in to a second term. The terms of Ireton and all five council members will end in November 2015 as the city adopts a new election cycle.
At the end of the meeting Ireton delivered his FY 2014 budget to the council. In his budget Ireton calls for a $0.065 rate increase.
photos courtesy of Jeremy Cox via Twitter
GREENVILLE, DE – Last year YOU paid $26,400 in rent to Vice President Joe Biden. Why?
It seems that the U.S. Secret Service uses a cottage on the grounds of Biden’s estate outside Wilmington. This property is used as part of Biden’s protection detail but Biden charges the taxpayers $2,200 per month!
Typical of most high-profile liberals, Biden and his wife donated less than two percent of their adjusted gross income to charity in 2012.
photo courtesy of the Washington Times
SALISBURY, MD – As Wicomico County homeowners again face an increase in their property tax rates, County Executive Rick Pollitt held a “public hearing” on his soon-to-be-released FY 2014 county budget. It should be noted that no real budget detail was provided for citizens to comment on.
Rather than unveil his budget, Pollitt and the Wicomico County Board of Education used the event to call for more spending on Education. While I came late to the event it appears that little was missed. When I asked two individuals after the event if I missed anything of substance, the responses were nearly identical – “If you heard one teacher speak, then you pretty much heard the whole thing.”
I recognize that Pollitt again faces tough budget decisions. However, repeated acts of political theater do not solve problems. While the Daily Times is giving prominent coverage to Delmarva Public Radio’s current “begathon”, Pollitt needs to realize that public hearings are not supposed to be begathons. They require information for open citizen input. Given that this event was held without providing that information (like his proposed budget), there is no point other than to politicize an already volatile issue.
WASHINGTON, DC – While the Obama Administration continues to insist that children are starving and old people are dying because of the cuts required under sequestration, ESSENTIAL federal spending continues for … BAGPIPES.
H/T – the Drudge Report
Billions in spending increases. Billions in tax hikes. Same-sex marriage. Repeal of the death penalty. “Green energy” subsidized by taxpayers. A state with already limited gun rights transformed into one of the most restrictive states in the nation. These are just a few examples of Martin O’Malley’s political “accomplishments”.
When O’Malley first ran for governor he was hailed as a “moderate” and “pragmatist”. Kennedyesque – more John than Teddy. O’Malley wouldn’t touch issues such a gay marriage or more restrictive gun control with a ten foot pole.
While he never hid his disdain for the death penalty, he attributed this to his Roman Catholic faith. I sympathize. I too am opposed to the death penalty – because of my pro-life beliefs. Sadly, O’Malley doesn’t allow the Church’s teachings to interfere with Democrat orthodoxy.
What happened? Barack Hussein Obama. In 2008 the Democrat party abandoned the center-left compromise which delivered two terms to Bill Clinton. National Democrats became more radical than in 1972. O’Malley, who has never hid his personal ambition and has always demonstrated fluid political and moral compasses, moved farther to the left.
We thought that children were starving and old people were dying because of the sequester? Yet … we would dare deprive the Obama’s of a little in-house entertainment (or multi-million dollar vacations).
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Next year voters will have a chance to amend Maryland’s constitution to place gas tax funds in a “lockbox”. The stated purpose of the amendment is to prevent a future raid on highway user funds like those that occurred with regularity during Maryland governor Martin O’Malley’s two terms in office.
While the amendment’s stated purpose may seem noble, and sound policy for Maryland taxpayers, some legislators are questioning whether or not the proposal is real, or little more than political theater. The amendment would require a 60% vote of both houses to raid the highway user fund. However, each time in recent years this has occurred it was accomplished by a vote of greater than 60%:
House Minority Leader Tony O’Donnell objected, “Every time we raid the Transportation Trust Fund, it meets the three-fifths vote” in both houses.
Even here on the Eastern Shore we’re not exempt. While legislators like Del. Norm Conway (D-38B) and Sen. Jim Mathias (D-38) don’t mind coming home to tell constituents that they voted against bills like the recent gas tax hike, they also haven’t hesitated to vote in favor of raiding the highway user fund.
Much is being made about a possible 2014 match between incumbent Maryland senator Jim Mathias (D-38) and Del. Mike McDermott (R-38B). While McDermott would have to overcome Mathias’ huge money advantage (Senate President Mike Miller will THROW hundreds of thousands of dollars Mathias’ way), a Mathias vs. McDermott race will show the unfathomable divide between “Annapolis Values” vs. “Eastern Shore Values”.
Listen to McDermott on the recently passed budget bill:
While I am a fan of Public Radio Delmarva (actually WSDL), I don’t support Maryland tax dollars going to support it. While I actually believe that SU needs a new library, I can’t imagine where $135 million is going. What about all of that money in the SU foundation? Why can’t it go to help build and equip a new library?
If you attended the recent town hall on Gov. O’Malley’s gun bill you would have witnessed a stark contrast in approaches. McDermott has FOUGHT this bill from the start. Mathias just voted against it (I would suggest for political reasons). You would have seen and heard the passion McDermott brings to this issue. While Mathias wasn’t in attendance, he sent an envoy to read a letter. The categorical difference was apparent to all – McDermott was fighting to protect one of our most sacred liberties while Mathias was tinkering around the edges to make a loathsome bill slightly less loathsome.
As a political junkie, I think a Mathias – McDermott race in 2014 will be exciting. As a citizen of Maryland, I believe that a McDermott candidacy and victory will send a message to those here and in Annapolis who believe that giving up our God-given liberty in pursuit of a few cups from the public trough is a worthwhile pursuit.
DelMarVa Dealings appears each Monday and discusses local politics and its impact on the Delmarva peninsula.
The state of Maryland has just passed a $37 billion budget, chock full of the expected tax hikes and wasteful spending. Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt will unveil his proposed budget on Thursday during his annual dog and pony show at the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. We can expect a proposed $0.07 rate hike. In a lead up to this, Wicomico School’s superintendent John Fredericksen provides an op-ed in today’s Daily Times which again proves that someone with so little understanding of basic economic principles should not be in charge of so much money.
Public schools are important to a community on multiple levels. The perception of high quality schools impacts whether or not a county or city is a desirable place to call home. That same perception can even impact whether or not businesses choose to locate in an area. It is a widely held belief that quality public schools impact an area’s crime rate. There is also the moral argument, which is probably the strongest of all, that we owe our next generation a decent education.
Yet, Fredericksen makes none of these arguments. Instead he tells us that Wicomico County’s public schools are an “economic engine” which grows our local economy. While I realize that none of Fredericksen’s degrees are in something as practical as finance or economics, that does not excuse ignorance about something so basic. I would be happy to suggest several easy reads which might get him up to speed.
Fredericksen’s argument is equivalent to Nancy Pelosi’s laughable statement that unemployment benefits are an economic development tool. Government spending, whether on education, unemployment benefit, or food stamps is a transfer of wealth – NOT a creator of wealth. In the case of state or local spending, where the government cannot run a deficit, this is even more so. Money taken from individuals and businesses for government spending could be put to better use by those individuals or businesses. It could be invested in new plant or equipment. It can create jobs through the CREATION of wealth rather than through its transfer.
Does this mean that public schools are bad? No. We, as a civilized society, have decided that funding public education is something we need to do. Unfortunately, people like Fredericksen attempt to equate spending ON education with quality OF education. Unfortunately people like Fredericksen want you to believe that the spending, in and of itself, is the net benefit to our community.
It’s little wonder that Wicomico taxpayers have such little respect for Fredericksen or the system he is charged with running. That’s the real shame.
It seems that simple, basic economic truth is coming home to roost in the European socialist utopia. It’s already occurred in Canada. Why can’t our own politicians grasp the obvious?
In a study released Friday at the annual conference of the Royal Economics Society, economists Luca Agnello and Vitor Castro of Italy and Ricardo Sousa of Portugal tracked austerity programs from 1978 – 2009. They found that the best programs shoot for the greatest deficit reductions in the 2nd and 3rd years of a program. They also show empirical data that opposition mounts to austerity programs lasting more than nine years.
Yet, here in the United States, our politicians are unwilling to make real cuts to government spending or to reform entitlement spending. Don’t expect too much media coverage of this study; it violates the current political narrative too much to receive serious consideration. Among the common sense findings:
IMAGINE – Reducing Spending is MORE EFFECTIVE than Raising Taxes! I wonder what Barack Obama’s reaction would be if he was actually made aware of this study?
Lord Keynes gets a bad rap these days. If he had lived to see the mess that was made from his General Theory he would be ashamed to see what the term “Keynesian economics” has come to mean. Rationalism reigns. Liberal politicians and economists tell us that if you spend X the economy will improve. After spending X, we don’t see the desired result. What is the left’s answer? We didn’t spend enough! (don’t worry, Paul Krugman didn’t receive his Nobel Prize for spouting this macroeconomic drivel)
Common sense has fallen to men and women who fancy themselves gods. While this statement may seem extreme, it is fact. Omniscience and omnipresence are required to “manage” a national economy. That’s either Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” or a god. Since most of these folks don’t believe in either Smith or God …
H/T – D. J. McGuire @ Bearing Drift
The Observer appears on weekends in the DelMarVa Observer and provides commentary on a variety of issues.
Giving YOUR Money Away to a Select Few
Salisbury mayor Jim Ireton LOVES to spend other people’s money. OK, he’s a liberal. Actually, Jim’s politics are somewhere to the left of Karl Marx. Ireton has seldom seen a government program he didn’t love. If Ireton is re-elected, AND if Jake Day is elected to the city council, Jim has a plan to spend some MORE of YOUR hard earned money. It involves re-developing downtown.
Ireton wants to sell the downtown parking lots for a song, subsidize them by waiving the capacity fees for water and sewer, and HOPE that Salisbury will somehow be re-born.
Does anyone believe that adding 500 “affordable housing units” downtown is going to re-vitalize Salisbury’s local economy? Evidently Ireton, along with Jake Day, councilwoman Laura Mitchell, and councilwoman Shanie Shields do.
The “logic” goes something like this:
Does that make sense to you?
500 Affordable Housing Units
OK, we sell off the parking lots, take EDU’s (water and sewer capacity) away from industrial development that could actually create jobs that pay a living wage, and 500 more housing units appear. Do you think that businesses will then flock to downtown? Ireton and his pals do.
Grocery Stores, Pharmacies, and Boutiques … OH MY!
Before a retail business decides to invest in a site they look at certain things, including traffic count and parking. Would you build a grocery store based on a target population of less than 2,000? Of course you wouldn’t!
But wait, wouldn’t people from outside the immediate area come? Would they? I live to the southeast of downtown. There are at least three grocery stores and at least seven pharmacies closer to my home than the downtown plaza. Well, maybe the people who live over on the west side will come? I can think of at least two grocery stores and two pharmacies that are closer. Well maybe the folks from Newtown? Maybe. Where are they going to park? Remember – Jimmy, Jake, Laura, and Shanie have sold all of the parking except for the parking garage. Do you really believe that those folks from Newtown are going to walk across US 50 and then schlep their groceries back on foot?
OK, I’ll agree that one convenience store might succeed under the Ireton plan.
It’s MAGIC!
The notion that this will re-vitalize downtown, much less Salisbury’s local economy is too ridiculous for real comment. Downtown CAN be salvaged. It CAN be re-vitalized. It just won’t happen by throwing subsidies at a few developers.
You need a solution that drives traffic. Business people will then be willing to invest their own capital. Look at Joe Albero’s plan. It not only makes sense, it offers a REAL, free-market driven solution for downtown as well as a plan for the city’s entire economy.
Subsidizing residential development was a failure during the real estate boom! Salisbury borrowed millions of dollars that were handed over to a select group of residential developers. What did that yield? Temporary construction jobs. Subsidizing retail doesn’t yield jobs that pay a living wage.
The key is to allow development without unnecessary government interference. The key is show potential employers – not just downtown, but throughout Salisbury – that the city will treat businesses, and residents, like valued customers.
Why can’t Jimmy Ireton learn from past mistakes; both his own and his predecessor’s?
Salisbury mayor Jim Ireton LOVES to spend money – OTHER PEOPLE’s MONEY. Being a lifelong government employee, Ireton sees nothing wrong with doling our cash because, in his mind, there is ALWAYS MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM.
Today’s example – Salisbury’s Thrift Travel Inn
This infamous haven for hookers and drug dealers, Salisbury’s poster child for rent-by-the-hour, no-tell lodging luxury was finally demolished last November.
That’s a good thing, right? In the end it was; but not if the city had done it “Jimmy’s Way”.
Ireton brought a proposal to the city council calling for the hardworking people of Salisbury to pay for the demolition. Why not? It’s other people’s money. The evil, obstructionist council, led by Debbie Campbell, said NO!
Why would they do that? Those mean, nasty people on city council thought that it was more appropriate for the property’s owners to pay for it. Shame on you Debbie Campbell! You took away another opportunity for Jimmy to call a press conference!
Of course, this hasn’t prevented Ireton from taking all of the credit during his campaign for re-election. I wonder if this is another of Jake Day’s examples that the “mayor needs a partner”.
If Salisbury has any hope of revitalizing its economy, it deserves a Mayor AND a Council that respects the hardworking people and businesses of Salisbury. These are the folks who pay the bills.
SALISBURY, MD – Last week we outlined Salisbury mayor Jim Ireton’s actions regarding the $1.4 million FEMA grant for the fire department. In Jimmy Ireton’s world, scoring cheap political points far outweighed public safety. One week has passed. We are one week closer to next spring’s city elections. Ireton is pulling another cheap political stunt.
This week we are told that Ireton is seeking to raise the annual salaries of Salisbury police officers by approximately $4,000. Is he really? Sadly, NO. Instead, the brave, hard working men and women of the Salisbury PD are being used as so many political footballs.
While Ireton and councilwoman Laura Mitchell bask in the Obamaesque glow of the Democrat National Convention and help to cement their places as Salisbury’s liberals-in-chief, Ireton is attempting to play games with the lives of Salisbury’s police officers and the safety of its citizens. By refusing to provide the RESPONSIBLE members of the city council with basic information such as the city’s year end cash position and how much money was returned to surplus at the end of FY 2012, Ireton is again attempting to goad the council members into voting against this latest proposal. WHY? To score political points on Jimmy’s ROAD TO RE-ELECTION!
Citizens should ask a couple of questions questions:
SALISBURY, MD – At Monday’s city council meeting citizens were treated to all of the drama which has made Salisbury famous (or infamous?). The meeting began with councilwoman Laura Mitchell’s expected grandstanding; it moved through a normal course of legislative business; and culminated with not one, but three trademark Jimmy Ireton hissy fits. In the end, the city council accepted a federal grant of $1.4 million to allow the city hire 12 additional firefighters.
Read the details later today in the DelMarVa Observer. For a fictional account, we suggest this morning’s online edition of the Daily Times. It appears that new city report Jeremy Cox is a budding short story writer.
WILMINGTON, DE – If Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) is to be believed, he knows how to save the U.S. Postal Service about $500 million each year. $500 million is nothing to sneeze at, but according to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe states that $22.5 BILLION must be cut from the postal budget each year by 2016. The USPS has already defaulted on a $5.2 billion payment to the federal government (for retiree health care benefits) and is expected to default on another payment later this year.
Can the post office be fixed? Of course … in theory. Unfortunately, we live in the real world. Members of Congress, Democrat and Republican (but primarily Democrat) will simply not allow that to happen. No legislator wants to see a post office, much less something like a processing facility, close in their district or state. Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) are prime examples. If you buy-in to their rhetoric, closing the Easton processing facility is akin to Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. Truth be told, Mikulski and Cardin would prefer a nuclear Iran over seeing a postal processing facility close in their own state. To them, and many of their Congressional colleagues, the USPS is one more way to use YOUR tax dollars to buy other people’s votes.
USPS revenue remains a huge problem. There is no doubt that the internet has put a huge dent into the USPS’s revenue stream. Almost every bill you receive in the mail includes some encouragement or incentive to pay your bill online and sign up for “paperless billing”. Why buy and mail a birthday card when you can send an “e-card” in less than two minutes, and often for free? Businesses, and individuals, don’t bat an eye at paying a sizable premium to FedEx or UPS to send parcels or time sensitive documents because they know that they will be delivered on time. The USPS can’t seem to deliver an overnight document on time.
Allowing the USPS to exit onerous union contracts, become more efficient, and pay wages and benefits comparable to their competitors will help; so will shutting down facilities. Unfortunately, the men and women we send to Washington simply won’t allow this to happen.
LEWES, DE – Cape Henlopen School District’s FY 2013 budget was balanced with a tax hike. Next year district residents could face more of the same, or reduction in school budgets, if federal money declines.
In a preliminary budget presentation by CHSC business director Oliver Gumbs, board members were warned of possible cuts in federal funding due to sequestration. Unless Congress acts in the next few months, discretionary federal spending is expected to be cut 7.8% – 9%. This would include funding for items such as Title I.
BALTIMORE, MD – The Baltimore Sun reports that taxpayers are picking up the tab to send police protection with Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on her recent vacation to San Diego? Should they? If Rawlings-Blake wants to government to cover the costs of her entourage on vacation, perhaps she should pick a spot closer to home.
The most amusing part of the her justification:
Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi acknowledged the mayor could decline to use executive protection, but said the police department’s intelligence section determines how much security is needed for public officials.
"We have a very high-profile mayor," he said. "Baltimore has issues of violence. We all saw what happened with Congresswoman [Gabrielle] Giffords."
Please. Horrible things will always occur. Does this mean that the taxpayer should pony up for every possibility, no matter how remote? We certainly do not wish the Mayor any harm. We also do not believe that holding elective office equates to entitlement. Unfortunately, the age of Obama is fast proving us wrong.
SUDLERSVILLE, MD – After a request from engineering firm RETTEW for additional cost overruns, the Sudlersville Town Commissioners have decided to close the town’s checkbook to the firm.
“Enough is enough. Every time we turn around it’s more money, more money … it’s almost August 2012, and we haven’t got a shovel in the ground,” said Commissioner Bill Faust. “If we agree on this, the checkbook is closed to RETTEW.”
“As far as I’m concerned, the checkbook should have been closed a long time ago,” Ford said.
One complaint from the commissioners which epitomized the problems faced by the town was whether to use a vacuum system or a grinder system. RETTEW told commissioners that a grinder system was more cost effective for a system of their size. RETTEW then delivered plans which called for a vacuum system.
ANNAPOLIS, MD – Maryland governor Martin O’Malley is expected to issue an executive order that will impact the state’s acquisition of land and its infrastructure.
DNR is “shifting away” from conserving land that is less than 2 feet above sea level, because of predictions that such land likely will be under water in 50 years, Griffin told the committee.
“There have been small land holdings that we have not pursued [that otherwise] might have been purchased to complete a larger complex of land,” Griffin said in an interview Thursday, explaining what the policy has meant in practice.
DNR Secretary John Griffin used Dorchester County’s Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge as an example of land lost:
During the past eight decades, the refuge has lost about 5,000 acres, roughly a third of its original area.
The biggest factors affecting the refuge now are relative sea-level rise, land subsidence, or sinking, and wind and wave action. The latter have become stronger as the loss of marsh land creates larger sections of open water where wave and wind energy build, wildlife refuge manager Suzanne Beard said Thursday.
Of course, the overwhelming share of that loss was due to sinking and erosion, not sea level rise caused by climate change. The expected cost of Maryland’s taxpayers of implementing these new rules is unknown.
SALISBURY, MD – Yesterday it was announced that Maryland governor Martin O’Malley had appointed Kim Hudson to replace Michele Wright on the Wicomico school board. Some local Republicans are seething because, once again, a Democrat governor has ignored the recommendation the local GOP central committee. Fiscally responsible voters are concerned that this is another voice for wasteful spending. Our response? Who cares? Hudson can’t be worse than Wright.
Let’s face it, the Wicomico County Board of Education hasn’t had a vocal champion for fiscal responsibility since the departures of Robin Holloway and Sue Hitch. GOP central committee chair Dave Parker decries O’Malley’s appointment:
"We did our part. We interviewed six people, cut the list in half and sent the three best forward, but that wasn’t what (O’Malley) wanted," Parker said. "I want the best people for the education of our children in Wicomico County and I don’t think that is a political issue. It is now and that’s too bad."
Really Dave? When wasn’t this political? The Democrat central committee always gets its “suggestions” appointed. The GOP central committee sees its recommendations appointed when it puts forward individuals who will agree to waste taxpayer dollars or keep their mouths shut. Case in point – the Wicomico Republican Central Committee recommended the appointment and reappointment of Wright and the appointment of Carolyn Elmore. When Wright was appointed to her first term she had the strong backing of both the central committee and many local elected Republicans. Ditto for Elmore’s appointment. Result? A supposedly “bi-partisan” BOE that never saw a dollar they weren’t willing to flush down the bureaucratic toilet.
Expect Hudson to support any boondoggle suggested by Supt. John Fredericksen, EXACTLY like her predecessor. Hudson wants the BOE to have access to unlimited funds. In Kim Hudson’s world, any dollar spent in the name of “education” can’t be misspent. Yet, the Wicomico County schools spend millions upon millions of dollars while Johnny still can’t read. The same mindset also allows schools to crumble without maintenance while people like Hudson call for building new schools, which will also crumble because building schools look good on a superintendent’s resume and keeping schools in good repair doesn’t.
Hudson’s impact on the school board will be ZERO. She is merely one more profligate among profligates. Some speculate that Hudson might be a bad enough BOE member that this could motivate voters to demand an elected school board. Unfortunately, County Executive Rick Pollitt and Delegates Norm Conway (D-38B) and Rudy Cane (D-37A) are keeping Wicomico voters from voting on an elected school board. Nothing Hudson does will impact this.
The net result – NOTHING. The BOE will demand more money. Wicomico taxpayers will continue to see their tax bill rise each year (thanks to Conway and Cane). A majority of a supposedly conservative county council will continue to fight over the scrap handed to them by Pollitt while refusing cut wasteful spending. Kim Hudson will simply smile and tell us, “It’s for the children”.
RICHMOND, VA – Gov. Bob McDonnell has announced that Virginia will finish fiscal year 2012 with a $129.2 million surplus. This is the third year in a row that the Commonwealth has finished in the black. FY 2011 ended with a $544.8 million surplus. FY 2010 had $403 million of revenues in excess of expenses.
Source – Richmond Times-Dispatch
SALISBURY, MD – We are constantly told that Salisbury city government is unique because of its ineptitude. Really?
Let’s go a few hours south to the city of Chesapeake, VA. In this sprawling city almost ten times larger than Salisbury, the Virginian-Pilot has been examining the cost overruns at a newly constructed jail. City Council was never notified until AFTER the money had been expended.
The reasoning being this abuse of the taxpayer? The city manager and his staff didn’t have a “mechanism” to adequately inform council. Ever heard of email?
No, the problem doesn’t lie with Salisbury. The problem lies with a seemingly lazy press in the Once Free State. I may not like the editorial policies of papers like the Virginian-Pilot, the Daily Press, or the Richmond Times-Dispatch, but they report the news. In Salisbury the press stayed silent while their pals in city government handed out millions in developer reimbursements and approved every cost overrun on the WWTP. Yet, Mayor Barrie Tilghman and council members like Mike Dunn, Gary Comegys, and Lynn Cathcart were held up by the press as paragons of virtue.
Who are the bad guys? People like Joe Albero for reporting this information; and elected officials like Debbie Campbell because they dared to ask questions.
Shame on them. I guess the people of Salisbury would prefer a system like Chesapeake’s.
While Scranton, PA has been forced to reduce city worker salaries to minimum wage and San Bernadino, CA is the latest city to file for bankruptcy, cities and counties on the Delmarva peninsula continue to behave as if economic reality will never cross the Chesapeake Bay or jump the C&D canal. As the population ages and more Delmarva taxpayers rely on fixed incomes, no municipality seems willing to acknowledge that future pension and medical costs simply cannot be funded forever. Nowhere is this more obvious than in Wicomico County.
In 2011 the Wicomico County Council passed County Executive Rick Pollitt’s “early retirement” plan. Under this boondoggle certain county employees have received larger pensions than they would have otherwise received. In addition, others (such as the county’s former Public Information Officer) will receive lifetime medical benefits after only 5 years of service. When this plan was adopted the council promised that they would look into reforming the county’s pension system. While councilman Bob Culver has asked multiple times that the council fulfill their commitment to the voters, a majority has refused.
This year, the Wicomico Council used the Jim Mathias / Norm Conway / Rudy Cane mandated property tax hike to dole out raises to all county employees. These raises increase the county’s future pension liabilities. Maryland county governments are now on the hook for teacher pensions as well.
Pension and retiree medical benefits are the stealth costs which are bankrupting municipalities and crippling local economies across the country. Our local governments don’t wish to address these issues because it’s too easy to ignore the problem and leave it for future generations (and future councils / commissioners) to address. When local governments acknowledge that a problem exists, it can only be fixed by HUGE tax hikes, HEAVY benefit cuts, and often BANKRUPTCY.
These problems are easy to fix NOW. Our local governments should do the responsible thing and ACT NOW. Obviously, the states of Delaware, Maryland, and (and to a less extent) Virginia should act to reform their pension systems as well. Unfortunately, we have no hope that these governments will act responsibly in the near future.
SALISBURY, MD – The Wicomico County Council will hold a public hearing at 6PM tonight to hear public comment on borrowing more $12.6 million to move construction of a new James M. Bennett Middle School forward. The hearing will be in Room 301 of the Salisbury / Wicomico Government Office Building. The county’s cost of the total project is expected to be approximately $43 million, all of which will be borrowed.
DOVER, DE – Relying on the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling that the Federal government may not cut state Medicaid funding if states refuse to expand the program under ObamaCare, Delaware governor Jack Markell is refusing to commit to the expansion.
Currently, over 200,000 Delawareans qualify for free health care under Medicaid. If Markell agrees to expand the program to 133% of the poverty level (as ObamaCare expects), the number of participants could increase by approximately 10%.
Maryland governor Martin O’Malley can’t run a state. He never saw a tax hike that he didn’t love. If it wasn’t for the largesse of China (for their willingness to buy US sovereign debt) and the federal taxpayer, O’Malley would be governing one of the poorer states in the Union rather than one of the wealthiest. Martin O’Malley would be a pauper, rather than a prince. Martin O’Malley does have one trait that has served him well … he is a prince of the sound bite.
Appearing on ABC’s This Week, O’Malley (following the Obama party line) accused presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney of “betting against America”:
“I’ve never known a Swiss bank account to build an American bridge, a Swiss bank account to create American jobs or Swiss bank accounts to build the levies to protect the people of New Orleans,” O’Malley said on ABC News’s “This Week.”
Granted, Romney should be shot for having the poor political acumen to have a Swiss bank account. At least Romney doesn’t lack the requisite economic and financial skills to lead a country out of the Great Recession.
Even O’Malley should know that we live in a global financial market. Swiss bank accounts do, in fact, create jobs. They even build bridges. As for the levies in New Orleans, money was available to build adequate levies but O’Malley’s corrupt Democrat pals used those funds to finance projects like marinas and sundry other projects where a better rake-off could be had.
photo courtesy of the Associated Press via the Washington Post
SALISBURY, MD – 2010 Wicomico County Executive candidate Joe Ollinger has proposed saving Wicomico, and Maryland, taxpayers approximately $11 million in the construction of a new James M. Bennett Middle School. In a letter to the editor in today’s Daily Times, Ollinger argues that the county council should demand that the state allow the school to be built under a “competitive wage” rule rather than the normal “prevailing union wage” rule.
Will the state allow this? Of course not! However, Ollinger’s suggestion is feasible and the county council should demand that the state support it AND that incumbent County Executive Rick Pollitt endorse it. Taxpayers have a right to know that that their tax dollars are being used to line the pockets of BIG LABOR.
Here is the text of Ollinger’s letter:
If the state of Virginia built a similarly designed school as Wicomico County’s proposed new Bennett Middle School, it would cost $11 million less than what we will pay in Maryland. Why? Virginia pays a "competitive wage" rate for such projects, while our state government mandates a much higher rate, called "union prevailing wage."
Therefore, we Wicomico County taxpayers have the privilege of forking over $73 million for the new BMS rather than $62 million.
The Wicomico County Council, for the benefit of its citizens, should courageously lead an effort to waive this "union prevailing wage" rate requirement for the BMS project. In pursuit of this waiver, it should rally support from our county executive and our Eastern Shore state delegation.
Governors, such as Chris Christie of New Jersey and Scott Walker of Wisconsin, have caught the attention of the entire nation with their successful battles with unions in lowering their states’ costs. Maybe our County Council, by fighting for this waiver, might ignite a statewide movement to stand against the unreasonable costly demands of unions.
Even if our council fails in this effort, it will expose to voters those elected state representatives who are more interested in wastefully pandering to unions rather than lowering the cost of government for their constituents.
Joe Ollinger
Salisbury
WASHINGTON – After EXPENSIVE, taxpayer funded excursions to Spain and Africa, First Lady Michelle Obama will now be travelling to London. Ostensibly she will be part of the US delegation for the Olympics.
ANNAPOLIS, MD – A report issued yesterday underscores again dramatic spending growth in Maryland, where the budget has increased more than any other state on the eastern seaboard and the mid-Atlantic region. Nationally, the rate of growth is higher than all but five other states, according to the non-partisan National Governor’s Association which compares state general fund budgets from fiscal years 2011 to 2013.
"What happens when you increase spending by more than most other states and you pass 24 tax and fee hikes? You end up having the biggest job loss in the nation," said Change Maryland Chairman Larry Hogan, referring to the latest U.S. Department of Labor report which showed Maryland leading the nation in lost jobs.
The report, issued twice a year by the National Governor’s Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers, details budget levels among the fifty states. Taking into account the last two years and the next fiscal year’s budget, Maryland’s 15.5% growth contradicts numbers the O’Malley Administration pointed to just six months ago. At that time the spending increase was 11.4% between fiscal years 2011and 2012, which the Administration tried to dismiss due to expiring federal stimulus dollars.
An O’Malley Administration spokesperson said in November that, "Maryland has increased general fund spending more slowly over the last two years than most of our neighbors."
"Once again, the Administration is making it up as they go," said Hogan. This is just like the fictional $8 billion in ‘cuts’ the Administration claims to have made. Fortunately, a non-partisan organization, of which the Governor is a member, provides some much-needed facts."
The total operating budget has grown from $28.8 billion in 2007 to $35.5 billion today. The general fund accounts for discretionary spending funded by state tax dollars.
The report adjusts budget numbers with each issue based on estimated versus actual spending. The average budget growth among all states from 2011 to 2013 is 5.5%.
Yesterday the Wicomico County Council passed County Executive Rick Pollitt’s FY 2013 operating budget. While Wicomico continues to endure one of the highest unemployment rates in Maryland, citizens and businesses alike will face higher taxes; placing even greater difficulty on those struggling to keep their homes and adding one more impediment to to a business sitting on the bubble as to whether or not to hire new employees.
For the first time since adopting a county executive form of government, the Wicomico council passed a budget without cutting one red cent from the Executive’s proposed budget. Several council members (we choose not to embarrass them by giving their names) have actually argued that not one dollar of Pollitt’s $117 million budget is being wasted. While I’m not aware of anyone claiming that Pollitt’s budget is a cesspool of profligacy and corruption, failing to acknowledge that some spending is wasteful or unnecessary forever surrenders any claim to fiscal conservatism on the part of these council members. To add insult to the injury of a tax hike, six of the council’s members when on a frenetic spending spree last Wednesday, adding an additional $600,000 to the county’s budget.
THE GOOD
Unless you happen to be a county employee, there’s not much good to be said. Prior to submitting his budget, Pollitt had already agreed to a 2% pay increase for the county’s deputies. He also eliminated furloughs for all county employees. Not to be outdone in the area of spending other people’s money, a majority of council members tacked on a 2% increase in pay for all other county employees. “FAIRNESS” seems to have replaced “It’s for the children” as the excuse du jour for spending taxpayer dollars.
Yes, the Board of Education got a little more money than they received last year. Contrary to popular opinion, I am not one of those who seems to believe that ten cents spent on public education is ten cents too much. However, I do believe that the Board of Education continues to spend money on items that are questionable at best. That should not be confused with a belief that the BOE throws millions of dollars into the fiscal dust bin.
I am also confident that State’s Attorney Matt Maciarello is pleased with this budget. He requested some additional funds and received them during the council’s “feeding frenzy”. Not all of the funds disbursed last Wednesday were bad calls. It was the mouth foaming zeal in which council members spent other people’s money that was most disturbing.
THE BAD
EASTON, MD – The Easton Town Council passed a $17 million budget for FY 2013 Tuesday without any change in tax rates.
In a 4-0 vote, with Councilman Pete Lesher absent, the council passed the about $17 million budget that is about 8 percent less than last fiscal year’s budget. That decrease is mostly from a change in the method of accounting depreciation, Easton Mayor Robert C. Willey explained at a public hearing last month on the proposal.
That $17 million includes about a $2.6 million capital fund with at least two carryover projects at about $1.7 million transferring from the general fund. The town still faces sizable expenses in the next few years, such as $1.5 million for a new fire truck, about $500,000 for radio upgrades and about $1.2 million for road repairs at two places in town.
For the last fiscal year, however, the town finished several capital projects, including the Tanyard Branch stormwater project and handicap projects at several intersections. The upcoming fiscal year budget includes money for sidewalk extensions along Dutchmans Lane, with crosswalks planned at U.S. Route 50.
SALISBURY, MD – By a 5-2 vote, the Wicomico County Council approved the FY 2013 operating budget. Council president Joe Holloway and councilwoman Sheree Sample-Hughes were the two dissenting votes.
As part of adopting the FY 2013 budget, council also increased the county’s real property tax rate 9.28% to $0.8404. The personal property tax rate, which businesses pay on equipment, fixtures and inventory was increased to $2.101. The tax hikes passed by a 6-1 vote, with Joe Holloway being the only dissenting vote. Councilwoman Gail Bartkovich blamed recent action by the state legislature for forcing the council to adopt a property tax rate hike of this size. Sample-Hughes argued that Annapolis’ action was necessitated by council’s previous refusal to raise taxes to pay for needed education and infrastructure expenditures.
While Holloway and Sample-Hughes seldom agree, both cited the revenue estimates provided by County Executive Rick Pollitt as their primary reason for voting against the budget. Both questioned the accuracy of Pollitt’s revenue projections given the “finding” of additional income tax revenue to pay for the county’s share of the teacher pension shift and the approximately $600,000 in new spending the council adopted last Wednesday. Sources within Pollitt’s administration indicate that council was not given an accurate revenue projection for FY 2013 and that other revenues were available but the amounts hidden from council and the public. During public comment Pollitt argued that one reason the county had successfully weathered the recent economic downturn was by conservatively projecting revenues.
The council members supporting the budget cited restoring county furloughs and further increasing the wages of county employees as a motivating factor in their support. Councilman Bob Culver noted that the county’s employee’s had “given up a lot” during the last three years.
SALISBURY, MD – The Wicomico County Council is scheduled to meet at 10 AM this morning to adopt the county’s 2013 operating budget. As reported last week, the council will vote on a budget significantly higher than that originally submitted by County Executive Rick Pollitt. On May 25th Pollitt submitted an amended budget which included $2.2 million for the newly mandated teacher pension shift. Last Wednesday the council requested that Pollitt further amend his budget to include a 2% pay increase for all county employees (in addition to the elimination of furloughs and a 2% increase for Sheriff’s deputies), a raise for the county auditor, and additional positions in the State’s Attorney’s office.
Wicomico taxpayers will face be paying an increased income tax rate (the highest in the state) and a $0.0714 increase in the county’s real property tax rate. Businesses will also face a $0.1785 increase in the county’s personal property tax rate.
SALISBURY, MD – The Daily Times has published multiple times that Salisbury mayor Jim Ireton would veto the budget passed by the Salisbury City Council. Yet, a press release issued by City Clerk Kim Nichols states that the amended budget passed by the council is law. What happened?
The answer is simple. A veto would have resulted in one of two things:
Allowing the city to enter FY 2013 would be the height of irresponsibility. Ireton should be applauded for not allowing the baser side of his nature to get the better of him. Allowing the city government to shut down due to hubris would have been unthinkable.
With revenue estimates revised (and revised again) from County Executive Rick Pollitt, a majority of the Wicomico County Council went on a feeding frenzy Wednesday. While taxpayers will be forced to endure a 9.28% increase in the real property rate, council members Stevie Prettyman, John Hall, Matt Holloway, Bob Culver, and Sheree Sample-Hughes decided to dole out raises for every county employee, along with a host of other spending increases. Only council president Joe Holloway advocated restraint. Councilwoman Gail Bartkovich had to leave the meeting before the end of the day’s spending spree was over.
I Thought the Charter Prohibited the Council from Increasing Spending?
It does. However, in a politically astute move by Pollitt and County Administrator Wayne Strausburg, the Executive handed council a pot of money and essentially said “Have some fun! Spend it however you want.” The increased spending will technically come from the County Executive in the form of an amendment.
Now, with four Republican council members abandoning any sense of fiscal restraint, Pollitt can complete this term without worrying about the council yanking the spending chain. Any criticism of Pollitt’s poor fiscal record by Prettyman, Hall, Matt Holloway, or Culver will be dismissed by Pollitt as mere hypocrisy. He will be correct.
Bellying up to the public trough and gorging themselves on every available taxpayer dollar, these self-identified “conservatives” have formally subscribed to the Pollitt school of governance – raise taxes to the extent possible and spend every last nickel.
Where Did the Money Come From?
This is the $64,000 question. On May 1st Pollitt submitted a proposed budget with total revenue of $114 million. On May 25th he submitted an amended budget proposal with total revenue of $116.2 million. The $2,173,593 difference was made up of a grant from the state to help cover the cost of the teacher pension shift and a $605,756 increase in income tax revenue. The difference in revenue numbers also conveniently equaled the amount of the teacher pension costs.
The increase in income tax revenue is questionable. However, since the revenue estimates are supposed to come from the state it is difficult to question. The $605,756 “increase” in projected income tax revenue allowed Pollitt to avoid cuts necessitated by the teacher pension shift. It was mighty convenient.
On Tuesday night the council held its public hearing on the budget. Those were the revenue numbers being used. Wednesday morning the council met for its final budget work session. “Miraculously”, $589,224 in additional revenue was available (at least according to Pollitt’s budget amendment). One more example of Pollitt and his staff riding in at the 11th hour.
To characterize the county’s revenue projections as “suspect” is an understatement. This deepens our concern over council’s decision to adopt the Pollitt approach to spending.
In addition to these suspect increases in projected FY 2013 revenue, another $3.5 million “fell from heaven” in the form of higher than budgeted income tax revenues for FY 2012. The next time you knock your car out of alignment due to a pothole, call your council members and ask why they didn’t ask to use some of those funds for road maintenance.
How Much Do We Have Left?
SALISBURY, MD – After spending thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars in an attempt to garner public support for $38.7 million Wicomico County tax dollars being funneled to the Board of Education (WCBOE), members and allies of the Wicomico County Education Association (WCEA) marched down Glen Avenue last night and demanded that the Wicomico County Council appropriate $2 million in excess of County Executive Rick Pollitt’s proposed FY 2013 budget. After disrupting the beginning of the council’s meeting and heckling speakers who opposed more funds for the WCBOE, supporters of the additional $2 million – Pollitt’s budget already contained funding that was $500,000 above maintenance of effort (MOE) – begged, pleaded, cried (literally) and threatened council members. In the end, it was all for naught. Even IF a majority of the council wanted to appropriate the funds, the county’s charter prohibits them from doing so.
Why? Well, if anyone deserves blame it would fall on the WCBOE. Their initial budget request which was submitted to the County Executive did not include the additional $2 million. The county’s charter does not permit council to increase spending on ANY line in the budget submitted by Pollitt. They can only cut spending. State law, which trumps the county’s charter, does allow the council to increase funding, but ONLY to the extent that a county executive has cut the budget request of the local board of education. Pollitt did not cut the WCBOE’s submitted budget. Therefore, council CANNOT increase spending.
This begs a question. Is Dave White, president of the WCEA, incompetent? The union’s leadership? Or … was last night’s piece of political theater designed merely as a prelude to the 2014 elections and an attempt to return to the spendthrift policies which led to the implementation of Wicomico County’s revenue cap?
CHESTERTOWN, MD – The Kent County Commissioners will hold their public hearing tonight on the FY 2013 budget at 6:30 PM in the Commissioners Meeting Room of the Kent County Government Center, 400 High Street in Chestertown. Prior to their public hearing, the commissioners will hold their regular meeting at 6:00 PM.
SALISBURY, MD – The Wicomico County Council will hold hearings tonight on the county’s proposed FY 2013 budget as well as on the county’s real property tax rate. The hearings will begin at 6:30 PM, while the council’s meeting will begin at 6:00 PM. The meeting will be held in the Midway room of the Wicomico County Youth and Civic Center.
Because of recently implemented state law, county council has no real input on the tax rate unless it plans to pass a rate higher than that allowed under the county’s charter.
SALISBURY, MD – If you live in Wicomico County chances are that you received the above postcard at the end of last week. The WCEA (Wicomico County’s teachers’ union) wants you to attend the Tuesday evening’s public hearing and demand MORE money for the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE). If you can’t attend, they want you to call or email the members of the county council.
Fair enough. Just because you work on the taxpayers’ dime doesn’t mean that you lose your right to free speech. I’m just wondering if Wicomico’s teachers are getting an appropriate bang for their buck from their union.
This postcard reminds me of an effort put forward a few years ago when the Chesapeake Bay Foundation spent tens of thousands of dollars on a similar campaign to encourage citizens to support a proposal to strip local farmers of their property rights. The plan failed so miserably that a year later six members of council were elected (or re-elected) who pledged never to support any similar proposal without fair compensation to local farmers. The defeat was so humiliating that the CBF shuttered its Salisbury office.
Wicomico’s teachers’ union now wants citizens to support $2 million in ADDITONAL spending above what was proposed by Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt in his FY 2013 budget. Taxpayers should be reminded that this budget already appropriates over $2.6 million MORE than was appropriated last year:
| $206,000 | to meet Maintenance of Effort (MOE) |
| $500,000 | ABOVE MOE |
| $2.173 million | for Teacher Pension shift |
To be fair, the $2.173 million for the pension shift is a pass through. However, while the state has mandated counties pony up for the pension shift there is no guarantee for Wicomico County that they will receive state aid to offset that expenditure past FY 2013.
Yes, providing a quality education to our county’s children is important. Yes, public schools should be well funded. However, the last available figures show that Wicomico County suffers from an 8.4% unemployment rate. We do not know what affect ObamaCare will have on PRMC – one of the county’s three biggest employers. We do not know what future funding looks like for Salisbury University – another of the county’s three largest employers. We do know that the enviro-left, and their pals in Annapolis and Washington, are attempting to drive Perdue Farms away.
Adding an additional $2 million to our county budget for schools is not a one time expenditure. That money, plus a built-in inflation rider, will have to be appropriated next year, and the year after, and …
While I don’t doubt the hard work put forth by MOST of Wicomico’s teachers, should the taxpayer really be forced to fund salary increases given our current economic straights? Instead of funding paying for fancy postcard campaigns and bogus studies, perhaps the WCEA could simply eliminate their dues for one year. That’s more money in the pockets of teachers which could be spent in the local economy – AND the rest of Wicomico’s taxpayers aren’t having to cut their spending to pay for it.
Larry Hogan, chairman of Change Maryland and possible 2014 gubernatorial candidate, has an interesting article over at Reason.com. Hogan outlines the steady exodus of Maryland-based businesses from the Once Free State to points north, south, and west – particularly to Virginia. Thanks to the policies of O’Malley administration, along with increases in the state’s income tax rates, this exodus includes small businesses as well as large.
SALISBURY, MD – To the casual observer, the Salisbury budget process has been moving forward for over a month. In reality, what has taken place up to today has been the equivalent of an “opening act”. The real showdown begins tonight when the Salisbury City Council passes the FY 2013 budget.
Salisbury mayor Jim Ireton, who “governs” by press conference and denouncement of the council majority, has been hinting since the introduction of his budget that he would veto ANY change to his proposed budget. Ireton is in for a BIG surprise. Unlike last year, when he could veto the council-passed budget because it contained no tax hikes (see above photo), Ireton now finds himself between a rock and hard place. Cut from his proposed budget are raises for his staff, along with other reductions in the Mayor’s spending requests. Also gone is his proposed tax hike.
Ireton could, in theory, veto the council’s budget. However, if he does so the city’s budget would not be in balance – a violation of the city’s charter. Fortunately for the city’s taxpayers, Ireton cannot unilaterally implement a tax rate increase. He can veto the ordinance setting the rate, along with the budget ordinance, but his budget cannot be implemented over the council’s objection because he included a hike in the city’s real property tax rate.
To date, Ireton has refused to meet with the council and negotiate in good faith. Instead he attempted to ride in at the eleventh hour and demanded a meeting just before the holiday weekend. For those that enjoy political theater, this week should prove amusing as Ireton attempts to spin the actions of a fiscally responsible council majority to his favor.
DOVER, DE – The leadership of the Joint Finance Committee of the Delaware legislature is proposing a 1% pay hike for both active and retired state employees. The cost would add about $20.7 million to the state’s budget.
EASTON, MD – The Talbot County Council has approved the county’s FY 2013 budget. By a vote of 3- 2, the council approved a $69.7 million operating budget which includes increases to the county’s real property and income tax rates.
The county’s property tax rate will rise to $0.491, up from the current $0.448 per $100. This increase includes a $0.026 “educational supplement” to cover state-mandated “maintenance of effort” (MOE) to the county’s schools. This increase is in excess of the county’s revenue cap, but is permitted under newly passed state legislation. The county’s income tax rate will increase from 2.25% to 2.4%.
Council members Laura Price and Tom Duncan voted against the budget. Both members had submitted amendments to the budget. Price’s amendment would have increased revenue without raising the income tax rate. Duncan’s amendment would have increased revenues without raising property tax rates beyond what was permitted under the cap.
Prior to adopting the budget, amendments were passed which restored funding to county fire companies, animal control, tourism, and economic development. Cuts to the county’s volunteer fire companies had been loudly decried by the public at the council’s public hearings on the budget.
GEORGETOWN, DE – Sussex County unveiled a $121.1 million proposed budget for FY 2013 Tuesday. For the 23rd consecutive year the county has completed its budget without proposing an increase in the county’s real property tax rate.
Included in the budget is a $0.035 tax credit (incorrectly called a rebate in some reports) for the coming fiscal year. Under the plan taxpayers whose taxes are current will receive a credit against their current tax bill. This amounts to a 7.8% decrease in the effective tax rate.
Because Delaware has independent school districts, the county budget does not include the cost of public schools.
WASHINGTON – Freshman Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) spent over $109,000 on franked mail last year. “Franked” mail is mail sent to constituents from a congressman’s office for information or constituent service purposes.
In an article written by Gannett Washington bureau chief Nicole Guadiano, it was disclosed that Harris ranked 100th among all members of the House and 45th among freshmen. Buried in the article was the fact that Harris’ predecessor, one term Rep. Frank Kratovil spent over $320,000 on communications during 2009, Kratovil’s first year in the House. During the same period as Harris, freshman Democrat Rep. John Carney (D-DE) spent over $187,000 compared to Harris’ $109,000.
SALISBURY, MD – In a press release Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt has announced that he is withdrawing the county’s request for a maintenance of effort (MOE) waiver from the state Board of Education:
May 21, 2012 — Salisbury, MD Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr., announced today that he has notified the Maryland State Board of Education that he is withdrawing the county’s application for a waiver of the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) standard for funding public education for Fiscal Year 2013. Pollitt was to attend a hearing scheduled for tomorrow in Baltimore to appeal to the State Board but the withdrawal negates that presentation.
In a letter to the State Board, Pollitt said, “Having our MOE standard re-based under the terms of the State legislation, I am now able to proceed with my original budget to the Wicomico County Council. That budget provides the full amount originally requested by our local Board of Education, not only achieving MOE but adding more than $500,000 in new funding, as well.”
The Daily Times has transcribed Pollitt’s press release, plus a few minor factual errors, in today’s edition.
Unfortunately, this announcement is just spin. While it is true that the waiver request was no longer necessary, it was also nothing but a PR exercise. The request was DOA when Wicomico County Board of Education and the local teachers’ union rejected the request. Without their support, the state board was not going to grant the request.
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