Louise Smith - Next on “Issues and Answers”
Tuesday’s Salisbury City Council meeting was long and, at times, boring. However Councilwoman Louise Smith made it worth waiting ’til the end by her closing performance.
To set this up we all need to remember that Louise only allows questions to be answered IF it is to her advantage. In other words, IF she thinks that the answer will make her or Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman look good. In all other cases the response is: “We’ll get back to you”.
Tuesday night Tim Spies stepped up to the podium. Tim recounted that he had appeared before council on April 14th to ask for some information regarding the TIF bonds sold by the city to subsidize the Old Mall project. The response: “We’ll get back to you.”
Unfortunately for Smith, et al, Spies is no dummy. He demanded to know WHEN they “would get back to him”. He was told that he would receive information within two weeks.
On Tuesday Spies stood before council again and wanted to know WHEN he would receive a response. He recounted what had occurred since April 14th:
On April 22nd a letter was sent to Spies from ace Tilghman sycophant (and titular Asst. City Administrator) Lore Chambers to the effect that this was very complicated information and difficult to put together. It would take a few more weeks. Tim took his seat; but don’t think that the show was over.
A few moments later, former City Council President Bob Caldwell rose to the podium. HE wanted to know WHEN an answer to Tim’s questions would be received. Since Chambers was sitting right there, she should be able to provide an answer. NOW the Louise Smith Comedy of Errors began.
Chambers couldn’t or (more likely) wouldn’t answer the question. Smith decided that it was now the time to give Bob, and the public, a lesson in the Barrieland protocol of answering public questions (I paraphrase):
Smith -
Answering these questions is a VERY COMPLICATED MATTER. All questions are posted on the city’s web site (She was then corrected that THIS question was not posted on the web). Then we address many of these questions on Issues and Answers.
Caldwell-
What is Issues and Answers?
Smith -
This is my highly rated TV show on PAC14 (she and pal Eleanor Mulligan watch most episodes). I discuss issues facing the city and answer questions from the public.
Caldwell -
I didn’t ask if this was going to be on TV. I simply want to know WHEN will we be given an answer to a question asked over a month ago. If we had filed a Freedom of Information request we would have received an answer weeks ago. I just thought that only certain members of council (Councilwomen Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen) had to file FOIA’s to get information.
Smith -
We’ll get back to you on that.
Let’s not forget that back in December Councilman Gary Comegys attacked Campbell’s remarks that “the city couldn’t balance its own checkbook” by claiming that the Finance Department could deliver the balance on ANY account within a day. If this were true, Spies and Caldwell would have received their information weeks ago. Who’s lying Gary, you or Louise and Lore?
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Maybe all three, maybe after being fob, they do not even know what telling the truth is.