Scandal Brewing At PAC-14

We haven’t written much about PAC-14, Wicomico County’s public access cable channel in quite some time.  Because of that, many of you may think that all is well there.  Sadly, you would be mistaken.  The crew running PAC-14 (along with some of the vocal “supporters”) are just as conniving and deceitful as always.

We have to admit that we made a mistake.  We tried to be fair and allow PAC-14 Executive Director Mike Goodson and a majority of PAC-14’s board the opportunity to do what they said they were going to do.  Instead, this merry little band has decided that giving Wicomico taxpayers the “middle finger” is the best route to obtain their goals – and those goals have little to do with providing viewers an opportunity to watch their government in action and providing citizens the opportunity to produce local content.  No, the goal of the PAC-14 board is to siphon money from the taxpayers and build an entity that will eventually be handed over to Salisbury University so that taxpayers will no longer have even a marginal say as to how a portion of their tax dollars are being spent.

Thanks to elected officials like Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt, Salisbury Mayor Jim Ireton, Salisbury council members Louise Smith, Gary Comegys, and Shanie Shields, along with unelected “volunteers” such as Phil Tilghman, Elizabeth Bellavance and WCBOE President Mark Thompson, expect PAC-14 to blossom into an organization which wastes money (your money) on consultants and plans for grand schemes while refusing to adhere to the basic rules of transparency (which are in their own by-laws).

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Will Wicomico Council Flush Millions Down Drain on Tuesday?

On Tuesday, February 2nd, the Wicomico County Council will meet.  On the agenda is a public hearing on whether or not the county should spend $1.5 million for five acres across from the Wicomico County Youth and Civic Center.

Fair enough.  Reasonable people can differ on the advisability of this particular use of the public’s money.  Many Wicomico citizens, like myself, will oppose this acquisition despite our agreement that the civic center needs additional parking.

Why?  It’s fairly simple.  This is one more example of the complete disdain county officials and bureaucrats have for the citizens of Wicomico.

RICK POLLITT

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Holloway Uncovers MORE Wasteful Spending at the BOE

Wicomico County Councilman Joe Holloway isn’t very popular with the bureaucrats over at the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE).  He politely asks for information on their spending habits, they attempt to stonewall him, Holloway keeps fighting for the information, the bureaucrats are embarrassed.  At least the taxpayers get to find out how their dollars are being wasted.

Speaking last night at the monthly meeting of the Wicomico chapter of Americans for Prosperity, Holloway gave a brief re-cap of his term on the county council.  Holloway made one thing crystal clear – despite the protestations of people like Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt and several members of the county council, Wicomico County doesn’t have a REVENUE PROBLEM.  Wicomico County has a SPENDING PROBLEM.

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Wicomico Board of Ed Gets Snippy Over Padding Budget

At this morning’s Wicomico County Council meeting the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) again showed that the taxpayers come last.  Appearing before the council for routine transfer of funds requests, WCBOE Comptroller Bruce Ford simply refused to provide adequate answers to questions from council members Joe Holloway and Gail Bartkovich.

When asked why the WCBOE couldn’t get a little closer in their budget estimates, Ford kept coming back to “the Board has never asked the the council for extra funds during the year”.  That’s true.  The reason for this is simple.  The WCBOE of deliberately pads its budget each year; with the surplus going to the “School Construction Fund”.

This, in and of itself, wouldn’t be so bad.  We all know that Wicomico County schools need maintenace (being the bureaucratic morass that it is, the “School Construction Fund” isn’t for school construction).  Maintaing our schools is definitely “for the children”.  Of course, robbing the “School Construction Fund” in the “Great Dollar Swap” doesn’t look so good when there is a slush fund of $7 million of the taxpayers money (the “Rate Stabilzation Fund”) that the WCBOE wants to use for little perks like upping the taxpayer portion on retiree health care.

Ford’s response to about why the county can budget closer was almost snippy – “Well we have more stringent reporting requirements than you do”.  No Mr. Ford!  The county government has to report to the TAXPAYERS and VOTERS of Wicomico County.  Perhaps one day, the WCBOE will learn that they are who the WCBOE works for as well.

Sphere: Related Content

Wicomico MOE Waiver Denied – State Gives Finger to Wicomico Citizens

The Maryland State Board of Education has denied Wicomico County’s request for a waiver of the state’s Momentum of Effort rule.  County Executive Rick Pollitt, along with the Wicomico County Council will now be forced to come up with approximately $2 million in additional cuts to the county’s budget.

Council Joe Holloway (R-5) responded to the state’s decision:

I’m disappointed.  I was hoping that as a county, the Board, Rick Pollitt and the County Council could work as a team to solve our current fiscal dillemma.  Unfortunately, Dr. Fredericksen’s efforts seem to have derailed our attempts to weather the county’s current financial situation.

Councilwoman Gail Bartkovich believes that the WCBOE should find a solution within their own budget:

I think that the board of education needs to find those cuts in their own budget.  Our county departments can’t make any more cuts this year.  While county employees are receiving no pay increase this year, and we’re even talking about furlough days, the board is able to increase benefits for their retirees.

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Looters Loose in Wicomico County …

… County Council Proposes Plunder in the “Name of the People”

If you have ever read Frederic Bastiat’s The Law you are familiar with concept of legalized plunder.  If you have ever read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged you are familiar with the looting class.  If not, I heartily suggest you read them FAST.  THEFT in the name of “public good” has come to our little corner of the world.

Last Tuesday, the Democrat majority of the Wicomico County Council (sorry John Cannon, you no longer qualify as even a “Republican in Name Only”) voted to move forward with legislation that will strip farmers of their property rights.  The council’s proposal would reduce the number of lots which a parcel may be subdivided into.  It also ends the dreaded “cluster provision” which allowed farmers to sell parcels of land for development at greater density by requiring that more open space would be preserved.  The net effect of this proposal is to drastically reduce the value of a given parcel relative to its value if still developable.

Translation – the farmers pay so that certain developers and special interest groups may prosper and the lefty fringe can feel good about themselves.

Council members Gail Bartkovich, Joe Holloway and Stevie Prettyman stood their ground.  If Ag District landowners are to lose value in their greatest asset, they need to be compensated.  Additionally, the legislation itself appears to be seriously flawed.  This doesn’t seem to bother the socialist majority of the Wicomico County Council.

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

County Council Moves Forward With Land Theft Bill

The Democrat majority of the Wicomico County Council moved forward today with legislation to strip Wicomico farmers of their property rights.  Council members Gail Bartkovich, Joe Holloway and Stevie Prettyman demanded that their names be removed from the legislation after noting that there was no mechanism to compensate farmers for the proposed land grab.

Moving the legislation to public hearing was approved by council members Bill McCain, Dave MacLeod, Sheree Sample-Hughes, and the council’s newest Dem John Cannon.  Sample-Hughes was at least honest enough to admit that there would NOT be any compensation mechanism in the legislation.

We’ll have a more detailed report tomorrow.  We are also waiting for a response from County Executive Rick Pollitt.  Pollitt has stated on at least two occasions that he would not support a bill that failed to compensate land owners for the loss of development rights.  I’m hoping that he sticks to his guns.

Sphere: Related Content

080908 Media Monday – Putting Lipstick on That Pig

If you picked up Sunday’s Daily Times and looked at the front page article on the misadventures of Wicomico County’s Liquor Control Board you would think that all of the hoorah is much ado about nothing:

The government monopoly that sells liquor in Wicomico County is under fire again, this time for records that show it donates to local charities, buys holiday hams and once rewarded a retiring employee with an $875 watch.

The actions wouldn’t normally get a private business into hot water, but to Councilman Joe Holloway and Council Vice President Stevie Prettyman, they amount to the latest example of the Wicomico County Liquor Control Board overstepping its powers. (emphasis is mine)

Daily Times reporter Greg Latshaw makes it sound as if those crazy council members – Joe Holloway and Stevie Prettyman are complaining about not much of anything. Nothing could be be further from the truth.

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

More Land Theft Talk Before County Council Today

As the Daily Times reports this morning, the Wicomico County Council will have a short meeting followed by a long work session. One of the key items to be discussed today is the plan to steal farmers’ land to benefit both developers and the enviro left.

This unholy alliance is tailor-made for the man leading the socialist charge – at-large councilman Bill McCain. McCain gets to appease his developer clients while kow-towing to the fringe element of his own party. It’s a match made in heaven.

Wait! How can a plan to "preserve our rural heritage" help developers? Simple – local developers who own land within the Salisbury metro core will see the value of their land, and projects, rise dramatically as land outside of the metro core is taken out of development play.

What amazes me most about this scheme is that a council, and county executive, who don’t have the political courage to force developers to pay their share for infrastructure improvements seem to have no compunction stealing from local farmers. I guess we see who swings the stick in the local Democrat party – developers along with SU faculty and WCBOE employees (who seem to dominate the local enviro fringe).

As usual, this will fall squarely on the shoulders of council members John Cannon and Gail Bartkovich. Will they stand for principle, or buckle to special interests?

Sphere: Related Content

Council Votes to Continue Corruption – Part II

As we noted yesterday, the discussion and vote over Resolution 110-2008 (to ask the legislature for a binding referendum to abolish the Wicomico County dispensary) was confusing to say the least. Last night I had an opportunity to review the proceedings on PAC-14 and was dismayed to discover that Wicomico County Councilman John Cannon had indeed abused his authority as council president.

Cannon’s tenure as council president has been relatively smooth. As a rule, Cannon runs a good meeting. He follows the rules. Both he and the other members of council treat each other, and the public, with respect. Compared to the Salisbury City Council’s under both Mike Dunn and Louise Smith, this Wicomico County Council is a joy to witness.

Why then did Cannon use a variety of bush league, Louise Smith – type, tricks to railroad the defeat of the referendum bill? You’ll have to ask John Cannon. I can only explain what he did and why it was not only improper, but an abuse of his office as chair of the council.

Read more

Sphere: Related Content

Next Page »