Is the Wicomico Liquor Control Board on the Straight and Narrow?
Kudos to Wicomico Councilwomen Gail Bartkovich and Stevie Prettyman! When local politicians seem all too willing to let transgressions slip by rather than criticize neighbors, Bartkovich and Prettyman held their ground Tuesday night when the audit for the Wicomico County Liquor Control Board was presented to council.
Mrs. Bartkovich refused to allow LCB auditor John Stern to brush aside her questions regarding a discrepancy in the Board’s beginning inventory numbers. Bartkovich had obviously done her homework prior to the meeting and would not allow Stern’s explanation that the bottom line number would not be affected by this error; or that the other numbers were still correct. A change of approximately $100,000 in beginning inventory would affect the profit margin of the LCB (and not for the better). If, as Stern opined, the error would have been covered in the purchases account we still have the question of a material error. Stern promised Bartkovich an answer today. Hopefully she will share it with the public.
Mrs. Prettyman had two questions for Stern and LCB chairman Herman Haemel. First, under who’s authority did the LCB determine how much income to distribute to the county each year? Prettyman does not recall the council ever voting on a new method of income distribution between the LCB and the county. Stern could only point to discussions between the County’s Finance Director and the LCB. If it turns out that the County Council had voted on the matter, fine. I’m sure that Prettyman will admit that her memory is like the rest of our’s. If, however, the bureaucracy rather than the elected representatives of the people approved such a measure this is cause for alarm.
Another inquiry from Mrs. Prettyman didn’t seem to sit very well with LCB chair Haemel. It seems that the LCB has awarded contracts of over $50,000 to a board member, Ron Alessi. Prettyman merely asked whether there was a policy covering such matters. Are there competitive bids, etc? Through Haemel’s non-answer we received one. There do not appear to be competitive bids. In all fairness, you wouldn’t normally bid out projects of this size. However, you also wouldn’t award the contracts to board members. Haemel hedged a bit too much for my liking when he claimed that Alessi’s price “was the cheapest price for that quality of work”. That’s a bit too subjective for my tastes when you’re handing out money to a board member. Since the LCB doesn’t have a policy in place, perhaps the County Council could demand one!
Again, three cheers to Bartkovich and Prettyman!
cross posted at Salisbury News
Technorati Tags: Maryland, Wicomico, politics, Wicomico politics, Gail Bartdovich, Stevie Prettyman, LCB, auditSphere: Related Content
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