Salisbury City Debt Is Just One Symptom of Gross Fiscal Mismanagement
Whether Joe Albero’s report of Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman not seeking re-election proves true or not, the city of Salisbury is headed for some rough seas. The city’s debt load is only a symptom of the gross fiscal mismanagement of Tilghman’s administration.
Contrary to this morning’s Daily Times puff piece on the city’s debt, the current level of debt is not justifiable. While it is true that the large jump in debt during Tilghman’s administration is largely due to the upgrade of the city’s waste water treatment plant, the debt level would not be nearly as large IF the Mayor and her lackeys on this, and the previous, council had shown even a minimum of concern for city residents and taxpayers.
A prime example is the now infamous “growth pays for growth” strategy put forth by Tilghman, previous council president (and now Salisbury exile) Mike Dunn, and our own local Nobel laureate, Councilman Gary Comegys. Using the failed strategy of paying the customer to take your product and claiming that they would make up the losses on volume, the Tilghman / Comegys axis subsidized developers, some of whom do not even have to pay city taxes.
Citizens were promised that “capacity fees” (Barrielandese for impact fees) on sewer and water would come to the rescue. Of course they left out informing the public how many developers were grandfathered from paying the fees or were allowed to pay lower fees that did not reflect the true cost to the city.
How many millions of dollars has the city borrowed to reimburse developers for projects that they (the developers) would have been responsible for almost anywhere else in the country? As important, how often has the Tilghman administration deceived the public regarding those reimbursements?
A case in point is the sewage lift station for Marley Manor. Rinnier Development (or a related firm) will be paid approximately $1.3 million in taxpayer funds for this lift station. According to Tilghman, Comegys and their shills, the city would be reimbursed over time for this money as new developments came online. Of course we now know that the only development that has plans to use the lift station is Marley Manor itself.
To add insult to injury, the public was informed Monday night (thanks to a slip of the tongue by city Public Works director Jim Caldwell) that funds for a needed lift station on the north side of the city was budgeted for and then struck. Since the city is contractually bound to provide water and sewer to several planned developments in that area the Salisbury taxpayer could be forced to pay for legal fees and damages if one or more of these developers (justifiably) sue the city.
TIF bonds have been floated to provide a triple subsidy to the developers of the old Salisbury Mall. The developers of the Aydelotte Farms project have received a similar TIF subsidy, yet that property does not even have to pay city taxes until lots are actually subdivided and recorded! In what may be the most suspicious (if not the most egregious) case, owners of the Sassafras Meadows property were reimbursed millions of dollars (again at taxpayer expense) for city utilities. Remember that this property was owned by former councilman Mike Dunn and his father. The company receiving the taxpayers’ largess is anonymous and has reneged on its commitment to provide hundreds of units of needed affordable senior housing on the site.
These are just a few examples of the Tilghman / Dunn / Comegys / Smith method of capital budgeting. We can now move to operating expenses.
As seen in this morning’s paper, the Mayor’s new press secretary (Daily Times dictation expert Laura D’Alessandro) has made a brave attempt to slap some lipstick on that pig known has the Salisbury budget. By simply quoting individuals such as acknowledged deception artist Louise Smith, Ms. D’Alessandro and her employers seem to believe that they are practicing ethical journalism.
Smith said, in light of this, it is time for the city to tighten its belt.
“We have to live within our means just like we do at home,” she said. “We may want to buy a new car this year but we’re going to have to stay with the 1958 Chevrolet for another year and hopefully it will hang on.”
Let us look back to last year’s budget. The taxpayers’ trifecta of Gary Comegys, Louise Smith, and Shanie Shields implemented a double digit tax increase and attempted to increase water and sewer rates by 10%. Councilwoman Debbie Campbell introduced a series of budget costs which would have reduced the size of the tax increase and provided needed pay raises for the city’s firefighters.
Smith refused to support this attempt for “the city to tighten its belt”.
Move the clock forward to the present. Smith and Comegys have conspired to prevent such an embarrassing action from occurring again. Tilghman’s titular lackey-in-chief has decreed that line item amendments will not be permitted. Only in Barrieland is such gross fiscal irresponsibility permitted, much less encouraged.
As Salisbury citizens are informed of the city’s first murder of 2008, they should ponder how the Tilghman / Comegys / Smith / Shields axis of evil goes about tightening the city’s fiscal belt. The Mayor and her lackeys cannot find funds for additional police officers, but can hand out large raises to the Mayor’s staff. Needed street repair yields to “necessary” items like applications for awards and a “citizen attitude survey”. And of course, there is no money to improve the sad shape of the city’s finance department.
Why bother? According to Councilwoman Shanie “the Great Intellect” Shields constituents don’t care if the city misplaces $10 million. Tilghman, Comegys and Shields seem to agree.
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