Media Monday, 02/01/2010 – Spinning Travel Abuse at the WCBOE

Tracey Sahler, “Public Information Liaison” (that’s “Spin Doctor at Taxpayer Expense” for you non-bureaucrats out there) for the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) really earned her pay this week.  She’s proving the old adage “It’s not what you know, but who you know” is definitely true when it comes to the WCBOE and the Daily Times.  Thanks to her relationship with the paper’s managing editor (her husband, Erick Sahler), Daily Times reporter Greg Latshaw will not only print the WCBOE’s spin, but their lies as well.

Sunday, the paper ran a front page story – “Wicomico School Travel Expenses Scrutinized”.  This piece was in obvious reaction to pieces ran last week by both Delmarva Dealings and Salisbury News outlining just a few of the abuses found by Wicomico County Councilman Joe Holloway.  Holloway has spent months attempting to get this information from the WCBOE and has been stonewalled every step of the way.  He has requested copies of the receipts for specific line items and has still not received those!  Yet, what was Mr. Latshaw’s lead for this puff piece?

The Wicomico County school system is viewing every out-of-town conference or business lunch with increased scrutiny as it prepares for big budget reductions.  "We would anticipate the (seminars and conferences) budget to be substantially and significantly reduced," said Superintendent John Fredericksen.

The WCBOE has refused to cut this year’s travel budget – instead choosing to cut from SPECIAL ED!  They have been caught using taxpayer funds for trips to Hooter’s, junkets to Vegas (including tickets to a Toby Keith concert), and dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse!  It appears that the taxpayers have even been charged for Superintendent John Fredericksen and Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt to have lunch.  Yet, Latshaw (and his boss Erick Sahler) want the public to believe that the WCBOE is attempting to be a faithful steward of the taxpayers’ money.

Fredericksen Lies … Again

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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.

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Why The Proposed Wicomico Budget Amendment Is Bad Policy

On Tuesday, November 10th, the Wicomico County Council will hold a public hearing on County Executive Rick Pollitt’s proposed budget amendment.  Nominally, this budget amendment is to correct a revenue shortfall caused by a loss of over $6 million in state aid to the county.  In reality, Pollitt’s amendment is designed to force citizens to repeal the revenue cap and will result (within 7 – 19 months) with a tax increase for Wicomico homeowners and businesses.

If you don’t mind paying higher property taxes, you should attend Tuesday’s hearing and say so.  However, if you agree with me that the revenue cap should stay in place then you should go to Tuesday’s hearing and DEMAND that the county council vote this measure down and call on Pollitt to RESTRUCTURE the county government to live within its means.

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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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Public Asks for Night Meetings of Wicomico Council

I don’t feel so alone anymore.

Julie Brewington, of the Lower Shore Chapter of Americans for Progress, spoke at today’s Wicomico County Council meeting and requested that the council meet in the evenings.  According to Brewington, “Those of us lucky enough to have jobs, those of us who pay taxes, can’t participate in our local government.”

True enough Julie.  I’ve lobbied for several years to have the council meet at night.  As councilman Joe Holloway pointed out, he has been asking for more night meetings since 2007, but a majority of the council doesn’t want to.  Councilman Dave MacLeod argued that “the elderly” don’t feel safe coming out at night.  Coucilwoman Sheree Sample-Hughes argued that the county would have to pay overtime to department heads.

Given that daytime Wicomico Council meetings aren’t heavily attended by young or old, MacLeod’s argument doesn’t hold much water.  As for department heads, they shouldn’t be getting overtime to attend council meetings anyway.  They’re on salary and shouldn’t cost the taxpayer any extra for having to do their job.

Perhaps the Wicomico County Council will hold meetings at night for at least six months.  After the public has time to find out about the evening meetings, maybe attendance will increase.  If they don’t, maybe they will at least be honest about the reason why.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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