A Happy New Year!

January 1, 2007 by Cato  
Filed under Holidays, Maryland, Salisbury Politics, Wicomico Politics

The contributors to “Delmarva Dealings” wish each and every one of our readers a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal, our loyal readers have shown time and again that you care about your communities.

Here are a few of Cato’s wishes for the New Year:

for Salisbury –

A new city council.

We all have been treated to the “civil” city council. We have witnessed Mike Dunn and Lynn Cathcart treat their constituents with the same disdain that Ronald Reagan felt towards the Communist Party. We have seen rules broken, re-written and then broken again. The citizens of Salisbury have seen their taxes and fees raised and they have been promised that they will rise again once the election is over. The city is mortgaged to the hilt. The city cannot pay its public safety personnel enough to retain them yet can borrow money to reimburse developers and subsidize even more developers. Crime is up. Graffiti is getting to the point that I’m starting to think Charm City or Philly every time I go downtown.

The citizens of Salisbury have a great opportunity this year. Tim Spies has already filed his candidacy. I fully expect another great candidate to file this week. I’m pretty confident that a third worthy individual will file soon. Wake-up Salisbury! Take your city back. You’re the only people who can make this wish come true.

A new mayor.

Sorry. We have to wait until 2009 for this one.

for Wicomico County –

The new Wicomico County Government to continue behaving as they are.

Sure, the one big thing that the current county council has done (refusing to extend the old mall TIF) was something that I agreed with. That’s not the point. These ladies and gentlemen are behaving like leaders should behave. They are treating each other, and their constituents, with kindness and respect. What a contrast to the Salisbury City Council. County Executive Rick Pollitt doesn’t attempt to run the county council meetings. He is starting in his new position by doing his job, not trying to do the council’s job for them. Council President John Cannon is running council meetings quickly and properly, but never forgetting that his colleagues on the council and the voters of Wicomico County deserve to be heard and their questions answered.

A Successful First Year for Rick Pollitt.

Mr. Pollitt has received some criticism from predictable quarters because he didn’t ride into Salisbury and lopping off heads. He’s doing exactly what he should be doing, learning the job and making sure that needed services are performed or provided. As time goes by I trust that he will make some changes to way the county is run. There is no need to rush in and attempt to change the world overnight. I do hope that he and Gary Mackes have learned a valuable lesson. The next time a department head dares to publicly criticize the county council or any one of its members they should be dismissed immediately. Not reprimanded. Not suspended. Dismissed.

Your first few weeks have been pretty good Rick. We all hope that 2007 will be more of the same.

A Plan for our Schools.

Wicomico County schools are overcrowded and many of our schools are deteriorating. This is a problem than cannot be solved overnight. The impact fee alone will only help. I hope that Mr. Pollitt and our County Council will work on formulating a plan to correct the problems facing our schools. To do this they will need to meet regularly with members of the school board. They will need to press the other departments into service to provide information and expertise in how to plan for needed infrastructure as the county continues to grow. They will also need to lobby the legislature for the authority to implement an excise tax.

A Plan for Growth.

Contrary to what you may believe, I am not anti-growth. I am just tired of my son attending a school that is over 130% of capacity. I get tired sitting in traffic. I worry that the fire trucks may not get to me in time if I ever have to dial 911. Growth can be great. We just haven’t planned for it here in Wicomico County. I wish that the county council will begin studying an Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO). It would be wrong of me to expect that they adopt a policy to my liking in the next three months. They can, however, start studying the issue, hire the necessary consultants and have a plan to present to the community within the next 12 – 18 months. Ditto to a full range of impact fees, ranging from public safety to libraries. To quote the great Mike Dunn, “Let growth pay for growth”. The only difference is that I can pass a polygraph when I say it.

I’m not going to bore you with my wishes for Maryland, the USA and the world. There will be enough of that posted on the net, printed in the newspapers and read on TV. Most of all I again wish you and yours a very happy 2007.