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Ladies & Gentlemen, I have been working on a story for weeks that fell right into my lap last night without having to do a single PIA request.
I have always wondered about this Michael Day character. He's always acted like a weasel and back in the day was one of those little boy toys for the Mayor.
Anyhow, last night the Dee, Dee, Deeee got up there and gave out some numbers I found EXTREMELY interesting. You see, I had been investigating this whole Park & Flea thing, wondering how and why this guy would wake up every weekend at 3:30 AM just to go out and collect a few bucks for Urban Salisbury?
You all know I come from Da Bronx and when I smell a Rat, I know something is up. That being said, Michael said last night that in the last year they had EXACTLY 2,665 Vendors participate. I'll start with, BS! I'll state there were a whole lot more than that but for Michael's sake, let's agree with his numbers.
OK, so we have 2,665 Vendors and Michael stated they Netted $5,000.00 last year. OH MICHAEL, STUPID MOVE!
After the meeting last night I waited around till Michael was done with everyone and excited like I said, "Michael, how much do you charge for Vendors to participate?" He replies, "$10.00 each on Saturdays and $5.00 each on Sundays."
Well, if any of you have ever visited, Saturdays are their busiest day but we're going to average the numbers just to make things fair. However, my FIRST challenge is the fact that I believe there are a whole lot more than 2,665 Vendors throughout the year. Heck, even in the winter months they're packing them in on Saturdays.
You see Ladies & Gentlemen, no one ever challenges guys like Michael Day. They just cruise along without saying anything but I kept thinking, unless he's getting paid BIG BUCKS to run this show on every weekend throughout the year, someone could be dropping big bucks into their pocket and the IRS should know about this.
OK, let's get to the beef of this article. At $5.00 each, times 2,665, that's $13,325.00, NOT $5,000.00! At $10.00 each it would be $26,650.00, NOT $5,000.00!
OK, so let's be fair again and say there's OVERHEAD and that's how they Netted only $5,000.00. WHAT OVERHEAD? The City has been BRAGGING how this has proven to be a HUGE success/project, I DON'T THINK SO! It's been HUGE for someone but it wasn't the City or Urban Salisbury.
Now think about it like this. If the numbers seem all screwed up right from the get go, imagine just how many Vendors there really were there throughout the year. I'm going to keep tabs on that. I'm going to go there and COUNT the amount of Vendors there are there even in the Winter months to see if Mr. Day's calculations make any sense.
Accountability, right Louise? I showed these numbers even to Louise Smith last night and she just stood there like a Dee, Dee, Deeee, seriously. She then said, you'll have to ask Mr. Day. I replied, I DID! That's where I got the numbers from. She just said, I don't know Joe.
You know there will be More To Come on this one........
Hmmmmm . . . see, it is this kind of stuff that makes this blog so valuable, despite its critics! I was watching the council meeting last night when this came up, and I thought $5,000 for the whole year seemed a little low. Maybe there is a simple explanation for this, but without you asking the questions, we would never know! Please keep up with this one--it may be totally innocent, but you are right on in questioning why the numbers don't seem to add up.
ReplyDeleteFinal Frontier
MY GOD JOE YOU HAVE OPENED ANOTHER PANDORA BOX.I WAGER THAT JOHN PICK/MAYOR KNOW WHAT MONEY IS COMING AND WHERE IT IS GOING.
ReplyDeleteIs the same Michael Day who works for Berlin and Pocomoke as their MainStreet Coordinator?
ReplyDeletePlease say it isn't so...
Maybe this is why the City audit is so late once again (cooko-booko).
ReplyDeleteJoe, when you are counting do not include those that are participating in the Farmers Market. That is a separate entity. Their fee is/was $50 a season, I believe. They also setup in an area separate from the flea market. They have nothing to do with Michael Day and his flea market.
ReplyDeleteJust FYI so there is no confusion.
Well I guess we know how Michael Day supports himself now he has retired from the picture framing and restoring business. What a low life conniving pack of cockroaches the FOB's are.
ReplyDeleteCome on Joe, it can't be that obvious, can it????
ReplyDeleteI am sure there is some sort of operating expenses. Is this Day a volunteer or does he get paid some sort of salary?
honestaby
what operating expenses.
ReplyDeletehe drives to the lot, then home. maybe sneakers? doubtful, though.
Joe:
ReplyDeleteEvery single time I have been screwed out of money the person trying to screw me starts out with...
You don't understand... you just don't understand how this works...
Michael Day is a very personable man and seems to be a nice guy.
Problem is, he was hand picked by Russell Blake, the undisputed King & lifetime ruler of Pocomoke City.
How does a "Downtown Coordinator" get hand picked by the most openly crooked and corrupt public official on the shore? Could it be his municipal math skills?
What is required to be hand picked by the most openly crooked and corrupt public official on the Eastern Shore to "coordinate" open air unregulated free market cash only small businesses?
Could it be he is a graduate of Russell Blakes Boss Hogg, school of municipal accounting of untaxed cash from unregulated sales?
Sounds like the Salisbury City Council was given a lesson in Pocomoke math at the meeting.
But
Isn't this swap meet / flea market held in the municipal parking lot across from a fully functional fire house that is being replaced?
Boss Hogg heard that the new $1,500.00 per square foot fire house, making it one of the most expensive fire houses in the USA is being located OUTSIDE of the populated areas but close to pet subdivisions owned by city supporters...
Ten Millions dollars for something that would cost two and one half million dollars anywhere else sounds like Pocomoke math.
Michael Day is a very nice guy to speak with and I am sure you would get along with him...
But you have to remember that he was hand picked by Russell Blake and nothing to do with financial reality can pass his lips.
Joe, the bottom line is you just don't understand...
Yuppers he's one of them there "Fuzzy Numbers" people!
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe,
ReplyDeleteI have been there myself,as a vender and certainly many times as a shopper. 40 vendors on a beautiful Saturday,maybe more, probably a few less on Sunday.So the math just doesn't work.
How stupid is this person? Or rather, how stupid does he think we are? 6 months 1 day @$10.00=24 days = $240 x 40 = $9,600
1/2 Sunday that is 4,800
totals $14,400
and what about the $50.00 per season for the agricultural vendors
There are probably 20 that is about $1,000.
We are up to aprox 15,000 without going out there to count.
Things just don't seem to ADD UP.
Incidentally I was not even set up when this guy came over to get the money. No identification, no nothing...I did not know who he was, or who I was paying because he told me nothing...That may be another issue. When I asked he said his name and He said he was an organizer...did not tell me he was from the City...not once.
Perhaps there should be some identification, oh, he was with others who promptly went through my stuff as I was unloading it.
Perhaps there is far more to this than meets the eye. Good job Joe.
PS I used 6 months as a model, and they are out there more than 8 months.
I bet the IRS would like to get to the bottom of this trough.
ReplyDelete