One example is the recent billing for landlord licensing and registration fees. Keep in mind, the fees charged by the city are a $25 registration fee and a licensing fee of $25 per unit. If you are one of the grand slumlords (Richard Insley, Donnie Williams, T. J. Maloney, etc.) or one of the large apartment complex owners (the Rinniers, the Twilleys) this can come to several thousand dollars. However, the vast majority of the city's (over 700) landlords own one unit or just a few.
Why then did the city decide to send out large billing and registration packets via certified mail? The postage alone was over $5.00 per packet. Throw in the cost of printing and preparation for mailing and you've eaten up 10% - 20% of the fees that are to be taken in. What about the costs of inspection? One inspection would easily eat up the balance of the fees from the majority of these landlords. This is just one example of the city providing an unintentional subsidy due to poor management and even poorer legislation (all courtesy of the Barrie Tilghman regime).
Another example comes from our friends at the Salisbury Zoo. The zoo has a program to sponsor an animal. For $25 you get a picture and certificate mailed to you, and a plaque is made and displayed at the zoo. Do you honestly believe that much of that donation is going to the animal after those expenses?
cross posted at Delmarva Dealings
It says this was posted @ 7:15, but yet it is only 2:45. Somebody needs to fix their clock!
ReplyDeletewho wants to sponsor an anmial that may be killed??
ReplyDeleteBarry Tilghman has proven over and over that she not only cannot add subtract but she is inept at every skill that is necessary to serve the people with the exception of having a big loud mouth. Notwithstanding I think that persons who do audits are supposed to say, "oops, that "fee" does not cover the cost of adminstration.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that what an auditor does?
Additionally to doing the "math"?
Have the auditors been "hamstrung" by the Tilghman administration, and told not to report certain things? The questions keep coming about that Audit.
I don't receive any other city bills certified mail. What's up with this?
ReplyDeleteThey were likely sent certified because so many landlords claimed last time that they never received them.
ReplyDeleteMost likely because so many landlords were delinquent last year and their excuse was probably that they did not receive the bill. Thus the cost of doing business must go up as well.
ReplyDeleteThis makes the County "pen fiasco" pale in comparison
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellant reason or reasons to vote in a new administration next year! I am concerned about the auditing company too. They should catch such poor management and put it in their mangers statement. That is part of their task in auditing!
ReplyDeleteA. Goetz
Why did Salisbury (make that Barrie) stop using Jim Pigg's firm as the City auditor (or was it the other way around when they smelled the odor of cooking books)???
ReplyDelete"They were likely sent certified because so many landlords claimed last time that they never received them."
ReplyDeleteThey had to know they were due to pay, with or without a bill.
Not getting a bill is no excuse! The city should not have to pay the extra bucks for certified mail in light of this PATHETIC excuse.
IMO, there are very few valid excuses for wrong doing or in this case for doing nothing...negligence.