It's simple, yet confusing at the same time. The way it starts is, as a taxpayer in the City you are taxed at 81.9 cents per $100.00 on your assessment value. If your home is worth $100,000.00 you multiply that by 81.9 cents and get $819.00 per year you pay to the City.
Now, according to the new debt service rate you're paying out 118.00 of that money towards bonded out debt. You must keep in mind that I'm keeping this very basic at $100,000.00, (most of you know your property is worth much more than that) just to give you rounded figures that are easy to follow. If you do step it up to a home valued at $180,000.00, $220.40 goes towards the debt service. To give you an idea of just how much their increasing YOUR payment towards debt service, last year that same home only had to pay $144.00, instead of $220.00.
In 2007 the debt service was $1,458,508.00
In 2008 the debt service was $1,837,945.00
In 2009 the Mayor has proposed a 13.5% increase at $2,085,668.00
OK, that being said, the debt for the City has gone way up, they're proposing a 3.8 cent increase towards the debt service over last year, yet no one is getting a raise? Hopefully this all makes sense in the end so everyone can understand how this works.
You see, they're tapping into the funds they collect from all of you and because they have so many new bonded debts, they're taking 3.8 cents, (around 3%) away from any salary increases and putting it towards the debt they've compiled instead. So what does that mean for next year? It means, unless they raise taxes and stay out of ANY more debt, no one is getting a raise next year either!
The important thing I want everyone to see here is, the affect it has on each and every taxpayer every time the Council rubber stamps a Developer Reimbursement, a new Fire Truck, a new Fire Station, a new Lift Station, you name it. Every time they do this, it cost not only you the taxpayer, each and every employee of the City gets screwed and the Mayor and the rubber stampers get everything they want while everyone works harder knowing they're not going to get anything for years to come.
As the infrastructure of the City continues to age, the expense of upgrading goes out of control. So if you think things are bad now, wait till things really start falling apart. They lowered the funds into road repairs and increased expenses by that same amount towards the Mayors Office. Go figure! If the antiquated water and sewer falls apart like it has been doing, there goes more debt. Now I'm not so sure that money comes from these funds. The idea is, the City is not saving money at all to maintain what the City already has. They're simply raising funds to keep things running, should NOTHING go wrong. I should correct some of that. They do budget for some things they see necessary in the future but its not much.
I'm not saying the Wicomico County and or the City of Salisbury is outrageously taxed, because it's not. What I am saying is that YOU have to question, can you afford more tax increases? The reason I ask is because you have to know, next year they're going to have to have yet another tax increase and what I'd truly like to know is, what happened to the 14% tax increase they already had? I am looking into that but it's never mentioned at any meetings and I really want to know where that money went and I'd like them to tell you.
You then have to ask yourself, do you really need 5 brand new Fire Trucks? How come it was OK several year ago to buy some used vehicles, but its not today? You have to start asking what you can and can't afford any more because their spending, (IMO) is out of control. This is not a bitch post, it's reality. Your input will be very interesting to hear.
Let me close with this. The new increase towards the debt ratio the Mayor has proposed is a 3.8 cent increase. Do you know what that equals? That's $939,199.60, just shy of a million dollars. How many Police Officers could Chief Webster have received for that amount? How many Firefighters could that have hired? Instead, buy Fire Trucks, a Fire Station, etc. and you know that list goes on and on and get toys instead of good men and women. Don't pay the hard working people at the Zoo or Public Works any more money, they'll survive, right?
I personally believe the people of Salisbury would rather take care of their family first, rather than the new cars every year for those on top, if you know what I mean? It's time for a new Mayor and other Leaders in this City, but that's just my opinion.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Mr. Albero:
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy your “year ago” and “2 years ago” retrospectives, but this week marks the 10th anniversary of a very momentous event: the initial election of Barrie P. Tilghman as mayor of Salisbury, which I believe occurred on May 4, 1998. On May 18, 1998, she was sworn in, and within a few days the devastation of Salisbury began with an assault that she directed against former Police Chief Dykes with the assistance of Robin Cockey and T. J. Maloney as de facto City Attorneys.
The rest, as they say, is now history (sad, but true).
I recall that in 1998 one of Tilghman’s major campaign pledges was to reduce City taxes and water&sewer rates, which she said were too high. And she attacked her opponent, Carolyn Hall, and incumbent Mayor Martin as being tools of the developers and landlords.
Do you think that we were snookered?
It is becoming more apparent that these are the beginnings of very tough times for the average person in America. We have begun, as a family, to take measures to conserve our personal finances, and to conserve the resources of the earth as well. Turning off lights whenever we leave a room, only driving somewhere that is really necessary, consolidating trips, are things that we've begun to take seriously. It's going to get worse before it gets better, and it would be a great relief to know that those people charged with running our governments felt and acted the same way. Please begin to act as though you respect the money and other resources which we have (unwisely?) put at your disposal.
ReplyDeleteAnon 1:27, We sure as hell were snookered! This mayor has just about laid total ruin to this city. We will be in terrible shape if we have a big breakdown of the water/sewer lines. Say, in multiple parts of the city, which is very possible now. Also, look at the street repairs, or I should say lack there of. All the city money is going to the new Fire House and their toys, plus to the developers, who by the way find themselves in a bind right now, having tried to build condo's as the market began to crash. 1:27 is right, it all began back in May 1998 and if you remember it was back then that a group of us citizens tried to stop the mayor from making a payoff to a lawyer friend of hers, but we lost in court under a setup! We must make the correct changes come next April or you can kiss this nice city goodby!
ReplyDeleteA. Goetz
A little off topic, but is the "Isabella St. Project" done? I travel the street daily and the work seems half finished.
ReplyDeleteIt is worse now than ever!I fear a head on collision by vehicles trying to avoid those man-made potholes jutting out into the roadway.Finish the job(that was not necessary to begin with).The life you save may be your own(or mine).
The easiest way to save money is
ReplyDeleteto not give increases or lay off people. However, it is not the smartest thing to do. Barrie has done it again!! What a Jerk!!
Didn't someone say on this blog last week that lore Chambers is getting a raise?
ReplyDeleteLorAISE Chambers is not getting a raise, she is getting another huge pay increase. Peons at public works get a raise after they take out the increase for insurance their raise will be a whopping 1% or 6 cents per hour. Whooopeeeee load up the kids, daddy got a raise, we can go and get a Rita's water ice and share it amongst all of us.
ReplyDeleteBarrie Parsons Tilghman is a trifling, low life disgusting bitch. Her followers are even lower than she is.
Oh come on tell us how you really feel heheheee
ReplyDeleteunfortunately the city is succesfully making the brave men and women that are there for citizens in their most diar time of need to live in poverty and not be able to pay their own bills. For that simple fact the people responsible for the employees well being should feel ashamed and saddened by it....my guess is they dont care
ReplyDeleteHey everyone-
ReplyDeleteI read this from time to time but never felt the need to post anything until now... I'm an EMT/Paramedic from Montgomery County Maryland and I've been in Salisbury since December 2006 now. I'll start off by saying I completely agree with most of you that Mayor Tilghman is completely incompetent and should have been removed from office long ago. I also agree the City wastes a lot of money, resources, and manpower that really ought to be, or rather I should say NEED to be, spent elsewhere.
HOWEVER... I have to disagree about the new fire station being a waste of money. Granted, given my line of work I suppose I have a little bias here... BUT the City of Salisbury (and all of Wicomico County, hell all of the Maryland Eastern Shore for that matter) has far worse than pitiful fire/EMS coverage. To someone like me who is used to a pretty awesome Fire/Rescue service (OK, a little bias showing here), it is kind of scary to think about what would happen if I got in a serious personal injury collision in the middle of the night and didn't happen to be near one of Salisbury's three stations.
With a city (and surrounding fire district) this large, the Salisbury Fire Department ought to have DOZENS more full-time cross-trained Paramedic/Firefighters and Firefighter/EMTs, not to mention WAY more apparatus than it currently owns. Moreover, if a proper GIS study were done (which I'm sure both SU or the IAFF would be happy to do at no charge to the City), I am fairly confident that you would find Salisbury Fire Department needs five or six stations that are EACH staffed 24/7 with **at least** one BLS ambulance, one ALS medic unit, one technical rescue squad, and one engine. I believe SFD doesn't have *ANY* BLS units in the whole City, only ALS - a ridiculous waste of resources since almost all calls around here require only BLS, not the much more expensive to staff ALS medic units.
Instead, SFD has only three stations that are physically located in downright silly places, and all three are understaffed and underequipped to handle multiple simultaneous incidents with any semblance of a decent response time. There is NO EXCUSE for it to take more than four minutes for the first BLS unit to arrive on scene, yet there are a LOT of calls in Salisbury that have a response time of much greater than four minutes. If you look at surrounding Wicomico County, it is MUCH MUCH worse.
To wrap up, let me clarify that this is NOT the fault of the Salisbury Fire Department: I believe they are doing the best job possible with their very limited resources... BUT the City/County need to step in and improve Fire/EMS service in Wicomico County. Wicomico still uses old-fashioned dispatch tones!!! No major Fire/EMS agency uses dispatch tones anymore... unit assignments should be done electronically and via Computer Aided Dispatch and automatic Station Alerts. My last complaint before I stop fuming: the time-to-dispatch here averages (i've been told, not sure) TWO MINUTES. That means from the time you call 911, it takes TWO MINUTES before the station even knows there's a call to respond to!! Then another five or ten minutes before the first unit actually arrive... SFD needs more funding!! Way more funding.