Yesterday's post on the current shenanigans of the Wicomico County Liquor Control Board motivated me to visit their website. What did I find? More political advertising at the expense of Wicomico County taxpayers!
What greets you upon entering the WCLCB website?
Fact
By law, Wicomico County is paid quarterly all profit, after all expenses, from the sale of products in the dispensaries.
OR
The Board's projected contribution to Wicomico County for 2008 will be $400,000. In addition, Wicomico County receives a portion of the sales tax collected from sales of products.
While there's nothing horrible about this, we need to ask a question. Was this little ditty up on the website BEFORE the current discussion about abolishing the dispensary system?
The rest of the front page tells us all about the serving the citizens of Wicomico County and reducing their tax burden. Sounds like another political advertisement again; and guess who paid for it?
Click the "About Us" link. More pablum telling us about all of the money flowing into the coffers of the Wicomico County government. I particularly love the part about the growth in contributions to the taxpayer. Of course they alway leave out the fact that the 2003 contribution was over $508,000. I wonder why?
Here's the bottom line folks. I don't mind the WCLCB tooting their own horn a little. BUT... they are not the ones paying for nespaper ads, or fancy postcards, or websites. YOU ARE!
If someone from the WCLCB says that you're not, that is a complete fabrication.
REMEMBER
Any money spent by the WCLCB that is not for LEGITIMATE expenses is money that rightfully belongs to the Wicomico taxpayer. Were those changes in the website legitimate expenses to sell liquor? How about those full page newspaper ads? The postcards?
The WCLCB will continue to dip into your pocket until our legislators have the moral courage to go to Annapolis and abolish it!
cross posted at Delmarva Dealings
What greets you upon entering the WCLCB website?
Fact
By law, Wicomico County is paid quarterly all profit, after all expenses, from the sale of products in the dispensaries.
OR
The Board's projected contribution to Wicomico County for 2008 will be $400,000. In addition, Wicomico County receives a portion of the sales tax collected from sales of products.
While there's nothing horrible about this, we need to ask a question. Was this little ditty up on the website BEFORE the current discussion about abolishing the dispensary system?
The rest of the front page tells us all about the serving the citizens of Wicomico County and reducing their tax burden. Sounds like another political advertisement again; and guess who paid for it?
Click the "About Us" link. More pablum telling us about all of the money flowing into the coffers of the Wicomico County government. I particularly love the part about the growth in contributions to the taxpayer. Of course they alway leave out the fact that the 2003 contribution was over $508,000. I wonder why?
Here's the bottom line folks. I don't mind the WCLCB tooting their own horn a little. BUT... they are not the ones paying for nespaper ads, or fancy postcards, or websites. YOU ARE!
If someone from the WCLCB says that you're not, that is a complete fabrication.
REMEMBER
Any money spent by the WCLCB that is not for LEGITIMATE expenses is money that rightfully belongs to the Wicomico taxpayer. Were those changes in the website legitimate expenses to sell liquor? How about those full page newspaper ads? The postcards?
The WCLCB will continue to dip into your pocket until our legislators have the moral courage to go to Annapolis and abolish it!
cross posted at Delmarva Dealings
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Technorati Tags: Maryland, Wicomico, politics, Wicomico politics, WCLCB, Liquor Control Board
10 comments:
Gropf (hic) pays fer (hic) gropf (hic).
If you go back just a little further you will find that in some years they didn't even produce $200K for the counties general fund. They know they are under a microscope now.
Joe, Im afraid you are way off base here brother.
"Any money spent by the WCLCB that is not for LEGITIMATE expenses is money that rightfully belongs to the Wicomico taxpayer."
You just dont seem to get it. WCLCB is a state agencey. Since you work neither for the WCLCB nor the state, how can you say what is a "Legitimate" expense. Answer: you cant. You know who that money belongs to? The state. I guess you'd rather see 400K going to Fredrick P. Weiner Distibutors out of Baltimore and a handfull of liquior store owners. "But prices will come down if we increase competition"... Thats a crock of shit too. They are already rock bottom. They will, in fact, go up due to liscensing fees and restrictions and delivery charges passed on from the distributor. Or perhaps you'd prefer to put a larger tax burden on the citizens and assess larger fees upon business owners. Who does that help? No one, thats who.
This is basically FREE money from the state. What do we have to do to get it? Absolutely nothing...except enjoy clean, safe, well run liquior stores. Would you rather have ramshackle little dumps w/ vagrants hanging outside popping up all around the county? That would be terrible, I think we can all agree on that. Let me stress again, this is FREE money to the County. Privatize and it goes away. Get over yourself on this one Joe, you're way off base and have better things to worry about.
Thats my two cents.
(No Im not Stuart Haemel, just a concerned County Resident)
two cents....
YOU might want to pay better attention! Joe didn't write this...G.A. did. Maybe you simply have a problem with Joe or you work for someone or someplace that gives you undue incentives from the WCLB..???? They NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE for taxpayer money, plain and simple.
countrygirl@heart
My apologies, I should have addressed it to G.A. But, it is after all Joe's blog. I have nothing against Joe, just his(or G.A.'s) stance on this particular issue. The thing is...it's not taxpayer money! It's only your's and my DRINKING MONEY that funds it!! That's it! Wico. Co. recieves pure profit, plain and simple. Dont look a gift horse in the mouth.
Two Cents
No reason to apologize, it's completely understandable. You majke a good arguement and it's worthy of discussing further.
The entire WCLCB concepts seems strnage to me. I guess I'm more of a free market guy. Where's the competition to keep prices in check? Who decides what choices are available in the stores? If the State/County has to be in control of liquor who's to say they shouldn't be the only ones selling bread or any other item we purchase in the market place? I'm not saying it shouldn't be regulated but monopolized? It doesn't pass the sniff test.
two cents -
Sorry to burst your bubble. It is NOT state money. By law, the profits of the WCLCB are to go to Wicomico County EXCEPT for a percentage that they are allowed to keep for inventory, etc. That percentage is determined by negotiation with the county.
Let's assume that everything you said was correct except for what I noted above. Are you claiming that it is OK for the WCLCB to use taxpayer money to pay for political ads? Is it OK to take the gang out to Greenhill CC on the taxpayer?
I await your response.
PS -
STOP using the expression "FREE MONEY". Only a fool or a socialist (a subset of fools) believes that there is such a thing.
My educated guess is two cents hasn't owned his own business ever. The "free" money isn't free to anyone and certainly not to those that have to compete with a gov't run business. One problem I see here is that the LCB hasn't lived within the law with the reporting, funds for the county nor the board and employees benefitting from the business.
Where's Gov. O'Malley? Sleeping?
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