Cannon, Democrats Approve Enviro for Planning Commission

Things are back to usual at the Wicomico County Council.  Nominal Republican John Cannon returned to where he appears most comfortable – on the left leaning side of the council.  By a 4 – 3 vote, Cannon and his Democrat allies approved County Executive Rick Pollitt’s nominee for the Planning Commission – Jacob Day of the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy.

With outgoing councilman Bill McCain carrying water for Pollitt, Cannon spoon fed Day a series of leading questions designed to make Day appear to have no bias against development in Wicomico County.  Cannon even went so far to admit:

“I want to dispel any view of bias”.

That’s dandy John.  There’s just one problem.  While any reasonable person will concede that Mr. Day could offer certain expertise to the commission, any reasonable person also realizes that Day’s employer is a strong proponent of stripping county farmers of their property rights through down zoning.  Are we to believe that the ESLC would employ Mr. Day if he does not share those same views?

This is from ESLC’s own website:

ESLC has developed the Regional Landscape Initiative, a program that focuses on one of the greatest landscape protection tools available: strong, proactive planning and zoning.

Translation – down zoning of agricultural lands.  Farmers don’t want to develop their land.  However, to deny them that option reduces the value of their land and in some cases has forced farmers off of their land.

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Even for Bill McCain – Be Careful What You Wish For

Last night’s “Repeal the Cap Rally”, hosted by outgoing Wicomico County councilman Bill McCain (D) was a rousing success – if you supported keeping the county’s revenue cap in place and opposed increased county budgets.  Approximately 75 citizens came out to express their opinion.  While there were a few of the usual “tax and spend” suspects present, only one spoke up – WET president John Groutt.  His response was mainly to call the rest of us “simplistic” and a bunch of “Tea Partiers”.  (I always get a kick out of leftists who call me simplistic because I don’t support their socialistic policies.)

A Model for Future Councils

While I have agreed with McCain on little during his term on council, and am not sorry to see him leave, he should be commended for last night’s get together.  Granted, it was 3 1/2 years in coming; but this was exactly what the city council needs to do.

Well … not exactly.  The entire council, AND county executive Rick Pollitt, should host such a meeting every quarter.  They could do it from the council chambers.  The council chambers are already wired for PAC-14 broadcast and for Wi-Fi.  Those who couldn’t attend could watch the proceedings live and it could even be arranged for the participants to take call-in questions.  We could even live blog the event, possibly collaborating with other local bloggers.  The costs would be minimal and the potential for increased citizen involvement is immense.

Some may be asking, “What’s the point?  Isn’t this just like public comment at council meetings where a few people come an gripe?”.  No, that’s why I argue that this type of meeting should be a model for future councils.  Here you had an opportunity to actually interact with elected officials and they actually answered questions.  Can you imagine what would happen if Salisbury city councilwoman Louise Smith had to do this?

However, to make this type of meeting a consistent success the presence of Pollitt is necessary.  As I pointed out last night, McCain and his colleagues on council are part time citizen legislators.  It is Pollitt who drafts the budget.  It is Pollitt who proposes almost all legislation.  While some of us may consider it fun to complain to the council, we must no longer allow Pollitt to use the council as a political shield before taking a stand on any issue.

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Wicomico’s Anti – Revenue Cap Slate Begins to Take Shape

Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt wants to end the revenue cap.  His staunchest ally – councilman Bill McCain – is not seeking re-election (nor could he be re-elected without a “one shot”).  Councilowman Sheree Sample-Hughes is on record as an opponent of the cap, but lacks the intestinal fortitude to fight the popular measure.  But, things are looking up for Pollitt’s merry band of tax and spend wannabes.

Former councilman Ed Taylor has decided to come out of retirement to seek an At Large seat on the Wicomico County Council.  His platform?  REPEAL THE REVENUE CAP!

That’s right folks, you need to be taxed more:

Taylor said he felt compelled to return to office because of the problems the county has with the economy and crime. He said he would do everything in his power to help eliminate the county’s revenue cap, a provision that restricts how much new property tax revenue the county can collect.

"I’m a strong advocate for the removal of the revenue cap," Taylor said.

This is typical of so many Democrats in Wicomico County.  If only we could spend more …  If only we could tax more …

While Board of Ed employees fly around the country and eat out on the taxpayers’ dime, Taylor evidently thinks the solution is to spend more.  While taxpayers are struggling to pay their bills, Taylor evidently thinks we should be taxed more.  While Wicomico citizens lose their jobs, Taylor evidently thinks county government should grow.

Thanks Ed.  It seems that the only difference between you and Bill McCain is the hair style.  I’m sure that voters will be very receptive to your message.

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Saturday’s Conway / Mathias Meeting

Much has already been written about Saturday morning’s Salisbury town hall meeting held by Del. Norm Conway (D-38B) and Del. Jim Mathias (D-38B).  Michael Swartz of Monoblogue provides a very factual, blow-by-blow account.  Julie Brewington of Right Coast Girl weighs in with a little more opinion.  My friend Joe Albero, uncharacteristically, is taking a “can’t we all get along” approach.

There are two things that almost everyone seems to agree on.  One is that we appreciate Conway and Mathias taking time to meet with constituents.  Yes, I know it’s an election year AND that it’s part of their job.  Yet, not every member of the legislature takes the time.  The second thing is that both Conway and Mathias are “good guys”.  I concur.  Wicomico County Exec Rick Pollitt is a “good guy”; so is Councilmen John Cannon and Dave MacLeod.  Councilwoman Sheree Sample-Hughes is a “good person”.  Hell, I’m sure there are even a few people who like Salisbury Councilwoman Louise Smith and Wicomico Councilman Bill McCain.  Regardless, taxpayers need to ask themselves if they can afford to continue supporting these “good guys”.

BIG GOVERNMENT CONSERVATIVES?

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Rick Pollitt Takes Dog and Pony Show on the Road

Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt took his anti-revenue cap show on the road this morning.  Speaking before a Salisbury / Wicomico Economic Development (SWED) meeting, Pollitt and a member of his finance staff argued that the county’s existing revenue cap is simply unsustainable.

I would agree that the revenue cap is unsustainable without a genuine re-structuring of the county government.  This point has been argued for several years by Wicomico Councilwoman Stevie Prettyman.

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Wicomico Taxpayers Receive Back Door Tax Increase

The arrogance of bureaucrats never ceases to amaze me.  They spend the TAXAPAYERS’ money yet act as if it’s from their personal discretionary account.

A current example is the $4 million purchase of the Powerwave campus on the corner of US 50 and Walston Switch Road, east of Salisbury.  Almost daily we hear a sad tale of woe from Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley or Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt about the said state of either the Maryland’s or Wicomico County’s fiscal situation.  There simply isn’t enough money to go around according to these two.

However, a few days ago we learned that the Tri-County Council of the Lower Eastern Shore (TCC) has purchased the Powerwave Campus.  According to comments made by several officials, the TCC needs the space.  Perhaps they do.  I’m certainly in no position to argue that point.  However, several points are easily arguable.

With the purchase of this property, the land and building will be going off the tax roles.  Based on its current assessment, Wicomico County will be losing approximately $30,000 per year in property tax revenue.  This means that county taxpayers will be paying a higher rate next year than they would be otherwise.  This isn’t arguable – this is fact.  One of the benefits of the county’s revenue cap is that big government advocates such as County Executive Rick Pollitt or Councilman Bill McCain can’t truthfully argue otherwise.

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“Daily Times” Endorses Evening Meetings for Wicomico Council

Lo and Behold!  The editorial board of Salisbury’s Daily Times has actually taken a firm stance on an issue.  Usually straddling the fence with a skill usually seen only in Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt, the Daily Times has decided to endorse the idea of the Wicomico County Council holding at least 50% of its meetings in  the evening.

The Daily Times has now joined Americans for Prosperity, NAACP, Delmarva Dealings, and SbyNEWS in calling for the Wicomico County Council to allow more participation in our local government.  We’ll have to see if our council members begin to get the hint.

Councilman Joe Holloway (R-5) has been the people’s champion on this issue since he was sworn in to office.  Bill McCain, council’s chief advocate of the teachers’ union, has been the council’s most vocal opponent.

Take one minute and email Holloway and McCain to show your support for evening meetings.

Simply CLICK HERE and you can email McCain (with a copy going to Holloway).

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The Arrogance of Bill McCain

Wicomico County councilman Bill McCain (D-At Large) must be the most arrogant elected official in Wicomico County, perhaps the whole Delmarva Peninsula.  It’s obvious that he answers to his special interest pals, not the people who elected him.

For the last several council meetings, members of the local chapter of Americans for Prosperity have been showing up at council meetings and asking that the Wicomico County Council begin holding at least half of their meetings in the evening.  While only a few of us actually went to the podium to comment, as many as 15 – 20 AFP members would show up at a meeting to show their support for evening meetings.  The idea behind this is simple.  Most taxpayers work during the day.  In order to give these citizens an opportunity to see their government in action, evening meetings would be necessary.

Admittedly, this is an issue dear to my heart.  I’ve been advocating for this since the current council took office in 2006.  Councilman Joe Holloway (R-5) has been leading the charge on this attempt to bring county government closer to the people.

Some council members don’t want to hold evening meetings for various reasons.  Councilman Dave MacLeod (D-4) argues that evening meetings would prevent seniors from attending.  While I don’t agree with his argument, I also don’t doubt that MacLeod is sincere.  Other members argue that they have experimented with evening meetings in the past and that attendance did not increase.

I understand this argument.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t hold much water.  If council would commit to holding all (or half) of their meetings for a period of time (I have suggested one year), then we could really find out if attendance would increase.  Holding an evening meeting every once in a while certainly won’t tell us anything.

Back to Bill McCain …

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Wicomico Property Rights Under Attack Again

If at first you don’t succeed, try to slip one under the table.  That appears to be the mantra of the likes of Wicomico County councilman Bill McCain and his spendthrift pals.  After losing in the “Great Land Grab” of 2009, McCain and company are looking to have another go.  This time they will claim that the county will lose state funds if they don’t go along.

As usual, the interesting stuff on tomorrow’s council agenda will be in the work session.  Under “MALF Certification”, McCain and his land grabbing buddies will make a pitch to bring back the proposal to steal farmers’ land rights without any compensation.

For the uninitiated (don’t worry, I had to look it up), MALPF stands for the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.  This body is supposed to compensate farmers for giving up their development rights.  We should note that there is NEVER enough money in MALF to compensate all of the farmers who have their property rights stolen by their state or county governments.  However, that doesn’t stop the mindless Marxists in Annapolis from playing out their little charade.

 

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Wicomico Budget Vote Tuesday – Another Pig in a Poke

As the Wicomico County Council prepares to approve another budget, taxpayers will again be buying a pig in a poke.  No, this is not a criticism of the council, but concern that Wicomico elected officials will be appropriating most of the county’s tax dollars to a proverbial black hole – the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE).

So far, the county government has no idea as to how tax dollars at WCBOE will be spent.  While I am sure that we would hear protestations from the likes of Supt. John Fredericksen and councilman Bill McCain, the facts are simple;  we don’t know how much the WCBOE’s employees will be paid next year.  Given that a disporportionate percentage of the BOE’s budget goes to salaries, how can we know how much the BOE is spending next year.  How can the county council or County Executive Rick Pollitt?

The answer is simple.  They can’t.  As county employees dodged the furlough bullet, expect to see WCBOE employees either receive raises, an increase in benefits through the now infamous “Rate Stabilization” slush fund, or both.

Expect Pollitt to continue to whine about the revenue cap.  Expect the teachers’ union (or probably all four WCBOE unions) to start organizing for the cap’s repeal.  Expect to hear that “It’s for the Children!“.

When bad teachers can be fired and the majority of BOE members start treating the taxpayer with something better than contempt, MAYBE it will be time to start having that discussion.  Of course, if the cap is ever repealed I’m sure Rick Pollitt has a huge wish list.

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