It’s Only Taxpayer Money

Next week will be exciting for the Tilghman administration. While the taxpayers of Salisbury still have no final accounting of how the Tilghman Crew of Barrie, John, Lore, Pam and Paul (as well as their council allies Louise, Gary and Shanie) have wasted the taxpayers’ hard earned dollars the council crew is all set to flush some more money down the drain.

On Monday we will all be treated with a “presentation” of how much money will (possibly) come into the city if Barrie’s sycophants on the city council will only give away Fire Station 16 to an arts group backed by Barrie’s friend Bill Ahtes. The (lack of) detail provided in the council’s briefing book provides evidence that the assumptions and figures are suspect at best. Mayor Tilghman and her cohorts wouldn’t want anyone to ask any intelligent questions. Would they? It was little things like intelligent questions by council members Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen which forced the administration and her council crew to back off from a 10% water and sewer increase last year.

The city has already cooked the books on the new fire station, spent money without authorization and now they want to give away a valuable piece of city owned real estate. Not only do they wish to give it away, they want to give it away to the same group of people (although using a different organizational front) that accepted the old Boulevard Theater on Main Street and then sold the property for condos. Of course it’s irrelevant that their are parties who have already expressed an interest in paying hard cash for Station 16 and will then create jobs and tax revenue.

On Tuesday the council will again meet to discuss the CIP (capital improvement plan). While I haven’t finished going through the entire proposal, I am already shocked at some of items that the Mayor has chosen to waste tax dollars on:

A study for the proposed Barrie Parsons Tilghman City Hall. The city finally paid off the GOB, but since Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt hasn’t agreed to name the building after Barrie, she wants the taxpayers of Salisbury to build her one that is.

$300,000 for a skate park? Bitchin’ dude!

$228,000 for a bike trail along the Northeast Collector Road. I happen to support biking and hiking trails. I just question why Barrie wants to add even more subsidy to the Aydelotte Farms development. If the city can’t afford basic services like police and fire, why this project now? Gary Comegys argument that people are going to travel to Salisbury to ride their bikes is ridiculous. The Seagull Century is an event, bike trails aren’t. Of course I like his argument that Louise Smith’s neighbors in Canal Woods are going to ride their bikes all the up to the north end of town to do their shopping. If Gov. O’Malley is willing to waste $225,000 of taxpayer funds for almost half the project Barrie and Gary should call up Al Gore to fund the balance.

$600,000 for the Downtown Plaza. In all fairness, I support the rejuvenation of downtown. Unfortunately their is no comprehensive plan. Instead Barrie just likes to throw some tax money every few years so that she can get support for re-election.

$1.75 million for South Division Street. And how much tax money is being brought in by the development Barrie and crew pushed through along S. Division?

$252,000 for another pedestrian bridge over the East Branch of the Wicomico River? Gee, there’s so much foot traffic along that area now.

And that’s just a partial list folks. But hey, it’s only tax money.

Crossposted on Salisbury News

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