Aydelotte Farms Developer Owes Salisbury $410,000

Remember Salisbury’s NE Collector Road?  You know, the road that was supposed to cut travel time to the mall in half and not cost the taxpayers a dime.  At least that’s what Barrie Tilghman, Mike Dunn, Lynn Cathcart, and Gary Comegys told us (Shanie Shields just votes they way her masters instruct her to).  I’ll admit, it’s a nice road.  I use it from time to time myself.  I just know that there’s no such thing as a free lunch … or a free road.

Well, it appears that the chickens are coming home to roost on that little ribbon of asphalt.  First, the developers stated that they were giving the road right of way to the city.  Then they demanded payment, despite the fact that the city was providing a TIF subsidy for the road.  NOW the developers are in arrears both to the city of Salisbury AND to the TIF bondholders.  According to Salisbury finance chief Pam Oland:

…an update related to the Aydelotte TIF.  Currently for FY 10, all taxes (including special taxes) have been paid on all properties within the Aydelotte TIF, excluding the large parcel still held by the developers.  That parcel owes regular taxes as well as special taxes for FY 10.  The total amount currently due is $410,106.99.  Meetings are currently being held between the developers, the bond holders and the City to discuss how to use the remaining funds in the project account and what are the updated estimates for sales.  If the taxes are not paid by June 16th, the property will be auctioned during the tax sale.

What happens IF the property can’t be sold?  It surely won’t be enough to cover the back taxes AND the bond principle.

Remember, the bonds were issued by the city of Salisbury!  The taxpayers were promised that they would NEVER be on the hook for this blatant subsidy of another developer.  I sincerely hope that this is one instance where the usual suspects actually told the truth.

Thanks Barrie.  Thanks Mike.  You might be gone, but the taxpayers just keep on paying!

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Who Said Dot Truitt Was Crazy?

For years, Salisbury resident Dot Truitt has been a lonely and indefatigable voice for wise development and appropriate use of our resources, such as water. While I don’t recall her name being mentioned at Monday’s Salisbury City Council meeting, she was certainly vindicated. Unfortunately for the citizens of Salisbury, that vindication will be short lived.

Time after time, Truitt has appeared before the Salisbury city council and posed some simple, yet serious, questions. How can the Tilghman administration constantly annex property for residential development or engage in public works agreements without reducing the city’s fresh water capacity?

Time after time, large developments were approved and the Salisbury Public Works Department kept telling the public that water and sewer capacity were at 85%. Truitt kept asking how the percentage of capacity remained the same, yet more and more development was approved.

Every time Truitt posed these questions Councilman Gary Comegys and then-Councilman Mike Dunn would mockingly roll their eyes. When I questioned public works personnel, I was effectively informed that Mrs. Truitt was just some foolish old woman who “didn’t understand the complexities of the matter”.

Read more

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Louise Smith – Mike Dunn in Drag

While millions seem to be worried about California permitting same-sex marriage, we should look inward. Barrieland may hold the distinction of having the first drag queen as city council president. While I apologize for not knowing the current politically correct term, there is a strong possibility (nay, probability) that former council president Mike Dunn put on a wig and glasses, and got elected AGAIN.

During Mike’s term, no one like to change the council rules more. Now we have Louise (or should I say Mike) back at it. At Monday’s Salisbury Council work session, a new resolution to change the council rules was on the agenda. When this matter reaches a legislative sessions citizens will be able to see that these rules have already been amended TEN TIMES!

Are the rule changes necessary? Of course not. Read more

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Barrie Tilghman Achieves Goal

In her tenth year in office, Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman has accomplished what most megalomaniacs only dream of. Tonight the Salisbury City Council will formally hand over all governing authority to the Queen of Barrieland.

Not a shot will be fired. Not a stone will be thrown. The only protest will come from a few concerned citizens and perhaps Councilwomen Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen.

As the members of the Salisbury Council become TOTALLY irrelevant to the governance of a once proud city, people may question how Salisbury moved from a democratic government with checks and balances to a truly authoritarian regime. Was it Mike Dunn’s fault? Gary Comegys’?

No. History will prove that Mike Dunn was a transitional figure in Salisbury’s decade long decent to authoritarianism. While history will remember Comegys as Salisbury’s home grown version of Vidkum Quisling, he only bears a small portion of the responsibility.

Of course, we should blame Barrie Tilghman. Right? Read more

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Old Mall Plan Delayed, Could See Substantial Change

Look forward to a new plan for the old Salisbury Mall. So far, everything promised by Salisbury Mayor Barrie Tilghman, former Council President Mike Dunn and Councilman Gary Comegys has either been delayed or substantially altered. Expect the same when the developers finally submit a final plan – NEXT YEAR.

Yesterday the Salisbury-Wicomico Planning Commission granted a one year extension for the developers, Salisbury Mall Associates, to submit a final plan. By itself this should be no great cause for concern. Unfortunately, there were conflicting statements given to the media yesterday. In Greg Latshaw’s piece in the Daily Times it was reported that the Commission granted the requested extension contingent on the project “not ‘substantially’ deviating from its plan for 685 residential units and 350,000 square feet of commercial space. WBOC reports that developer Jon Natelson stated that, “retail spaces could possibly be more profitable than housing there.”

Continuing his record as a reporter that does his job well (even if I disagree with him at times) Latshaw was wise to place “substantially” in quotes. We have learned from past experience that the Planning Commission will deny you the right to put up a sign in a heartbeat, but seldom does it say no to a developer. Read more

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Was the “Tilghman Times” Complicit, or Simply Lied To?

Yesterday we ran a post describing the full extent of the subsidy being received by Salisbury Mall Associates (SMA), developers of the old mall project. Forget for a moment that this group has yet to fulfill a single major commitment on time. Forget for a moment that we have now learned that SMA will be collecting the lion’s share of the city property tax revenue from this project to pay off the TIF (tax increment financing) bond that was issued by the Barrie Tilghman administration.

Today, Delmarva Dealings ran a post from its too infrequent contributor Amicus reminding us of the role played in this fiasco by the house organ of the Tilghman administration, the Daily Times. Was the Tilghman Times duped, or were they complicit in the deliberate spread of misinformation by the Tilghman administration and her minions then serving on the Salisbury City Council – Mike Dunn, Gary Comegys, Lynn Cathcart and Shanie Shields? Read more

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Why Is the Old Mall Project Receiving a Triple Subsidy?

Back in 2007 the Barrie Tilghman administration, in conjunction with Mike Dunn led Salisbury City Council, pushed through the TIF bonds for the old Salisbury Mall project and the Collector Road project / subsidy for the Aydelotte Farms subdivision. Now it’s early 2008 and we’ve learned a few things about the old mall TIF bond.

Despite all claims to the contrary by Tilghman and her minions, the TIF bond is a subsidy. Remember back to December, 2006. Mike Dunn was expecting to receive a blanket endorsement of TIF’s from attorney Keenan Rice and was shocked when Mr. Rice stated the old mall TIF was a subsidy. That’s SUBSIDY NUMBER 1.

The next subsidy comes in the form of interest paid. It seems that the terms of the bond permit the developer – Salisbury Mall Associates, LLC – to use bond proceeds to pay interest on the bonds until they are able to sell some condos, some offices, some storefronts, etc. Then those folks will be paying off the bonds in the form of property taxes. REMEMBER – the old mall project will be receiving city services, but the vast majority of the property taxes paid will be used to pay off the TIF bonds. SUBSIDY NUMBER 2. Read more

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Transparency in Government – Louise Smith Style

Last year when she was running for the Salisbury City Council, Councilwoman Louise Smith only had a few issues. Initially the only two things she could talk about were getting the city audit completed on time and Government in th Sunshine. Later on she latched on to higher salaries for the city’s public safety employees.

We all know that the audit was due before November 1 and it still has not be formally presented to the Salisbury Council. As for public safety employee salaries – the police did receive a raise, but Louise went out of her way to renege on her promise to the city’s Firefighters (whose union supported her campaign).

What about Government in the Sunshine? For Louise this has many facets. For Smith the concept includes public participation, council participation and lastly openness of process. Unfortunately for the voters of Salisbury, Louise fails in all three areas. Read more

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Salisbury City Webmaster Makes an HONEST Mistake

Go to the Salisbury City web site and find the “City Council page“. In the middle of the page is the list of all five members of Salisbury’s city council, their contact info and a picture of each one.

Go to the picture of Louise Smith and move your mouse (cursor) over the image. What you see? “MIKE DUNN”! I don’t know who the city’s webmaster is and I’m sure it was an HONEST mistake. But come on! The Irony!

As you will be reading over the next few days, it is becoming increasing apparent that Barrie Tilghman gave Louise a bunch of DVD’s with Mikey’s greatest hits and told her that this was how you run a meeting.

Cross posted on Salisbury News

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The Maryland Way – If You Can’t Win, Change the Rules

The rules are simple – there are no rules. If you can’t win today, change the rules tomorrow and demand a rematch. This is how Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is attempting to get rid of Maryland Schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick.

Grasmick refuses to resign. The State Board of Education continues to have faith in her. What’s O’Malley to do? According to Senate President Mike Miller, Grasmick will not survive another term. Why not? O’Malley and the Democrat-controlled legislature will merely change the law as to how a superintendent is appointed. Read more

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