With a crowd of more than 80 people, this Forum was by far the best one yet. The questions were more in line of what your next Mayor's responsibility might be as well as many of the hot topics we face in hard times. I'll share my thoughts at the end of this article. The following are my notes.....
The first question asked by Mr. Bill Reddish was based around crime and what will you do as Mayor to work on this issue?
Della Penna: I've heard we need more Police Officers, I don't believe it. Crime has gone up elsewhere and I don't know about you but I still leave my back door wide open.
Comegys: Any crime is a problem. When we increased pay, crime went down. We need more Officers and technology. We need to re institute Crime Watches. Invest more into Grant opportunities.
Ireton: I reviewed a Comprehensive Study from 2006. There was a 1 1/2 to 4 1/2% increase in crime over Baltimore. Open up Sub Stations again. Bike Patrol. More money for Police Officers. I stood in front of the Council and showed then where they could cut $1.6 million. We have more than 7,000 students at SU.
Caldwell: Crime exists and it's going to continue. We're not going to be able to afford new positions. Crime Watch. Things will be tight for the next 24 to 36 months.
City Boards & Appointments.
Ireton: It's hard to find people to serve. We need to stop bringing in people who could benefit from serving. It's like the fox in the hen house, like Richard Insley.
Della Penna: No favoritism for anyone. The Zoo is a big priority. The Zoo used to be the best around. It's not like that any more now.
Caldwell: Repetitive. Find people competent.
Comegys: We need to better advertise. Take in letters of intent. Make sure the city is represented as best as we can.
Views of fiscal budget 2010? Line item budget?
Comegys: New Mayor will have an impact on our new budget. I believe a program budget works. It's a better management tool than a line item budget.
Della Penna: I'm in favor of a program budget.
Caldwell: The incoming Mayor will have less impact than Mr. Comegys says. There's not much time for the new Mayor to impact the budget. I am in favor of a line item budget. I believe the Mayor should present a budget to the Council, (like we used to do) and then it becomes their budget. I would offer a charter amendment to the Council to change it back to the way it used to be.
Ireton: I'm weary about this one. It will be in conjunction with 5 Council Members. I'm in favor of the line item budget.
Competitive Bidding, such as the City Attorney and other services?
Ireton: Competitive bidding is great but I have seen my fair share of change orders in my time. The City's lawyers salary needs to be set and the lawyer needs to stick to that figure. We need to get the best bang for our buck.
Caldwell: Some can be outsourced and some can be under our control. It truly depends on the service. Set a price for City attorney and set a figure for any additional services required.
Della Penna: The City attorney should not work elsewhere.
Comegys: I'm not going to low bid my attorney just like I wouldn't low bid my Doctor. In 1998 &1999 we spent $180,000.00 in attorney fees. In today's money we're spending just about the same.
Mall TIF, Developer subsidies?
Comegys: We have no risk in the Mall TIF. We still get base line taxes. No tax payers are at risk. County just purchased 5 acre lot from the old mall.
Caldwell: Development is good for all of us. Our previous Council did a good job doing so. However, we need to be more careful. The status of the old mall is unclear to me.
Della Penna: I agree with the TIF. The City is dragging their feet.
Ireton: I would not be in support of a TIF. There is the population of the entire town of Delmar in that one location, the old mall. For 30, 40, 50 and even 60 years these people need to pay for their services from the City. Yes, we were all happy to see the old mall come down but it was sad to see that citizens had to sue.
Surplus Assets?
Della Penna: Have an auction.
Comegys: We have a good system in place. We advertise to solicit bids. If no one bids, then that's the value. I think we have a good system. Old Fire Trucks bring what they bring.
Ireton: I agree with Mr. Comegys. We have a problem with crime, let's get back to that.
Caldwell: No change in system is warranted. I see no reason for change.
SU Students don't feel welcome in Salisbury?
Comegys: We have a problem with the lack of housing.
I stepped out of the room at that moment.
Repairing infrastructure?
Comegys: In 1957 we spent 33% in infrastructure. Today we spend 59%. We need to put more tax money into streets and sidewalks.
Ireton: 3 ways. 1, line item budget. 2, An adequate public facility ordinance and 3 put our own fiscal in order. We raised taxes 25% over the last 6 years. I'll provide audits on line, on time.
Caldwell: Infrastructure, lack of building permits in recent years. This is a very important issue for our next Mayor. Salisbury needs someone with experience.
Della Penna: We need a strong infrastructure. Why does it take so long for permits. Our roads need to be fixed.
Position of Richard Insley on Landlord Board?
Ireton: In the opening rules you mentioned no personal attacks. I feel this question does just that and I opt not to respond to that question as I feel it goes against your own rules. The audience broke out into applause.
Comegys: I agree with Mr. Ireton.
They chose to drop that question and move on.
Campaign Contributions, 1 candidate has all large donations while others are small.
Caldwell: Everyone is following the law.
Comegys: I would like to thank all those people who made donations to my campaign. We've all complied with that. We're all operating on a shoe string.
Della Penna: I didn't raise anything.
Ireton: We all need to give a check to Mike Della Penna. I've been in this a long time. You should be discriminating.Some people on Boards & Commissions, you should be worried about who's donating. We have had a history of politicians who have been bought & sold. I do not have property on the edge of town to be annexed.
Citizens Questions.
Stand Pipe, it's stable and determined to be safe. Is it historic?
Comegys: It should be preserved. Part of the cost will come out of the water & sewer fund. If we get grant money to pay for it, why not. It's a part of our history.
Della Penna: Anything historic should be saved.
Ireton: Most of our historical things are gone. We've become a place of concrete and strip malls. It should be saved.
Caldwell: I disagree. Just because it's old doesn't mean it's historic. I don't think it has any historic sense. $140,000.00 could hire two cops instead.
How much time can you devote towards being Mayor?
Della Penna: 24 hours a day. I don't have a job.
Ireton: This question has been an elephant in the room for a while now. If I'm lucky enough to be elected, is $25,000.00 a year enough? Do we pay enough per year? I will do everything necessary to be successful as your Mayor.
Caldwell: Whatever time it takes.
Comegys: Whatever is necessary.
Ireton came back and said, it's important that all incomes are represented.
How will you stimulate the economy?
Ireton: Downtown. Brew Pub, the Council needs to get more involved. Maryland is sometimes a difficult place to do business. We need to offer credits to businesses willing to come Downtown the way it is, not after it's built back up.
Caldwell: Create an environment to make it desirable to do business with. Make the system work and invite businesses.
Della Penna: I'm not a politician, I'm a businessman. Lower the rent.
Comegys: Developers know our process takes a long time.
Do you believe there are Gangs in Salisbury?
Della Penna: Work with Police and remove the Gangs.
Comegys: Gangs are here. To what extend, I don't know. I would want the Police Chief to inform me better. I'm going to demand this of our Police Chief. (note, the Chief had left the building when that statement was made). The school system has a role in this as well.
Ireton: Dan Dougherty can tell you exactly how many Gang Members there are in Salisbury. Job problems, schools, faith groups, code compliance, sub stations. Get cops into the sub stations and cops back on the streets.
Caldwell: I think admitting they're here was the first step. Graffiti needs to be cleaned up immediately after it happens. A task force is necessary.
Should the City draft legislation for doing business with LLC's and expose who the players are?
Comegys: I'm not so sure. LLC's are a legal entity. There are some corporations we don't know who the owners/players are.
Ireton: Note: I have no notes.
Caldwell: Disclosure is important to the City.
Della Penna: I'm not a lawyer, I don't know.
Transparency & Open Government?
Caldwell: You will not see Mayor Caldwell interrupting City Council Meetings and arguing with the Council.
Ireton: 220 signatures on a petition to reopen sub stations. Note: I got lost from there.
Comegys: Consider all of our records here. Do you want5 a Mayor to talk about problems or resolve problems.
For the very first time, Salisbury University Students were represented in a Public Forum and invited. They walked out of this meeting very happy and pleased and enjoyed their experience.
I think if you were someone new to Salisbury and you came into this Forum trying to get educated, Gary Comegys probably came off as the winner. However, since everyone is NOT new to local politics, I believe Ireton and Caldwell did a fantastic job. Ireton is always more charismatic than anyone else and if you ask me, if I wanted someone going to Annapolis representing the City of Salisbury, Jim Ireton would be the best Candidate for Mayor of Salisbury. Bob Caldwell would be a very close second. Mike Della Penna is a nice enough guy but who's kidding whom here, the man is certainly not Mayoral material. I know I didn't deliver this kind of post from the last three Forums. The main reason for such is how long it takes to type this out. This Forum was far more important so I took the additional time to do so.
I will say this however, Jim Ireton has out performed everyone in each of the Forums held to date. While I question Jim's commitment towards this position being a full time job for him, I take no credit away from his answer because I personally feel he's right on target when it comes to paying your Mayor. Look, this is a serious job and Salisbury is certainly big enough to be paying at least $50,000.00 a year. I feel the same way about Mike Lewis and the job her does as Sheriff. It's an insult to pay so little and in order to get properly represented you have to be retired and financially secure.
Jim is a great candidate and I believe Jim when he says he's do everything it takes to be a success as your Mayor. Comegys is conveniently retiring but I have to say Folks, if you want more of the same, then give him your vote. Bob Caldwell is a great man, period. However, I just haven't heard Bob sell me on solid answers and convincing answers. I would want to know exactly what it is you're going to deliver as the next Mayor and delivering careful answers at these meetings just doesn't cut it and that goes for ALL of the candidates.
If I have the time later I'll provide to you what "I" would have said as a Candidate and you determine if anyone answered these questions with confidence and convincing enough to gain your respect and vote.
Again, here's what I want YOU to think about. When you make your vote on Tuesday, think about which one of these men you want standing there in Annapolis representing the City of Salisbury.
UPDATE: While Mr. Comegys seemd very proud of the fact that the County has in fact purchased 5 acres of the old mall property and implied last night that a deal was complete, this was absolutely inaccurate. The following statement just came in from Jim Fineran. "Here’s the situation…program Open Space has encumbered $1.5 Million for acquisition of 5 acres of land for use as a parking lot on what is known as the Old Mall property. There has been no purchase from the property owners. Negotiations are ongoing."
That being said, Mr. Pollitt assured me that there would be no purchase of that property with Wicomico County Taxpayer Money. OK, so this program is state money but it does come out of your pockets. I personally believe nothing should be done until the task force comes back with an answer on if they believe they should build a new Civic Center, or not.
22 comments:
I have no fear that Jim Ireton will work something out that allows him to commit the time needed.
He knew this going in, and he has more than one option available to him. That's probably why he won't comment until after further discussion with him employer. And if his employer wants to take a "let's see if you make through the primary," that's between them.
Thanks for the notes, Joe. Wish I could have been there.
I've got $20 on Della Penna's house getting robbed after saying "...I still leave my back door wide open." Not too smart pal!
GO IRETON!!
There's only one who realizes that the salad days are over and believes the "BUDGETARY DISCIPLINE IS ESSENTIAL" and that the City's budget must be brought under control -- cast your 1st or, if you support someone else, your 2nd vote for Bob Caldwell.
PS -- you can vote for two different candidates in the primary next week.
enna come off as a joke?
If I lived and voted in Salisbury, I couldn't vote for Penna simply because of the statement he leaves his back door open and unlocked. A guy that naive couldn't possibly know what's going on, and it demonstrates his inability to grasp the concept of cause and effect. I can see him being interviewed on the news after his house is burglarized now, "Gee, you just never think this is going to happen your neighborhood." When I see and hear people say that on the news in these days and times, I think they should be immediately taken back into the woods and beaten with a stupid stick.
Penna: Idiot who should learn to tie shoes first.
Comegys: True politician, may be telling the truth.
Ireton: Good guy, knows what’s right, lacking backbone to handle Salisbury
Caldwell: no BS, has clear intentions, my vote is for him
Non specific as always, I cant butter bread that smooth.
Thank you Doug, I agree with you completely. That's why I thought I'd try to find the time to give everyone MY answers and compare them to theirs. If you know me well enough, you'll know MY answers are truly what I would have said. Answer the darned questions convincingly and with confidence.
Whats involved in raising the Mayors annual salary? Does the councel have to vote for it and find a way to pay for it? What is the process?
I pretty much agree with this assessment. I've been to a bunch of these now, and I really think Ireton is the best guy, with Caldwell a close second. Whoever suggested that Ireton doesn't have the backbone to be the mayor is nuts! He has gotten up in front of the current mayor and called her out repeatedly. He has taken non-stop bs from teh Comegys camp, and refuses to lower himself to their level. He gives out his home phone number (even though that sometimes means receiving some pretty odd phone calls). Is he perfect? No. But he has some mad skills and his heart is in the right place.
Doug,
I believe the council has to raise the salary by amending the city charter. Citizens can also do it through a petition. It really does need to go up, otherwise it cuts out a huge section of qualified people from running. I know Jim has taken a lot of crap about this, but I also know that he is willing to take a massive pay cut if the citizens choose him as mayor. He is the ONLY candidate who will have to make this sacrifice, so it is rather unfair that the lazy SHA retiree guy is calling Jim out on it. I think it will be refreshing to have someone in charge of spending our money who really gets that it isn't always easy to pay the bills, but who has managed to do so through hard work. As we all know, Comegys cannot say the same thing.
Hey Joe,
Great and fair summary! You didn't mention one key thing, though, the closing statements. Readers might want to know that Comegys got shouted down when he used his allotted time to attack Ireton.
It appears when traveling on the west side of Salisbury that Comegy's and Shield's are a ticket.
Let's hope that Caldwell and Ireton are the last two standing.
In my opinion, either would bring a great deal to the table and serve the citizens well, as would Tim Spies.
All I can say is, I can't believe I am behind in pre-election primary polls to THESE guys {refer to top photo in original post here}.I've seen more enthusiastic, genuinely forthcoming, people hooked up to a car battery and 3 inches of standing water in a kiddie pool at Gitmo.
This was the best forum of the lot. Will Camden Neighborhood association have another one before the main election?
Joe,
Thanks for attending last night, and for your reporting today.
I hope that everyone got something to take away with them before the primary election. That's what the forum was all about, the education of the public.
I was happy to see folks from all local walks of life, folks interested in the future of their city, wondering who it might be that could best lead. It was particularly good to see the SU student turnout; students seem to better realize that a strong, just and receptive city government is a good thing for everyone.
I personally urge everyone to get out and vote Tuesday.
Thanks again,
Tim Spies
President, Camden Neighborhood Association
Mr Bubba when did the county buy the parking spaces from the old mall llc group?? I am a county resident and have missed that one.
was PAC 14 there? if so will it re-air?
You know, the one thing that pi&&es me off more than anything about Comegys is his outright lying and stretching and twisting the truth to fit his needs. He's done it the whole time he's been on Council, he's doing it now, and we can't really expect that he's not going to do it if he's mayor. Too much like Barrie.
I'm sure that both of them were bullies from the time they hit kindergarten, ones that snitched, lied and cheated whenever they "had to". Is there another word for people like this? I'm sure as hell hoping it's not going to be "mayor" again.
Comegys is aiming all his fire at Ireton, not a bit at Caldwell.
Ireton's raised the most bucks from the most people. Caldwell's barely in the race.
Comegys would love for the "vote for 2" thing to put Caldwell in. That's why he's hands off Caldwell and putting his all into tearing down Ireton.
Get the picture?
Mike Dunn is back on the Daily Times article comment area as "GoodnightCanada".
Blasting Ireton, of course. Whoever wrote the comment at 3:12 is right.
Is "GoodnightCanada" writing Gary's material and speeches too?
Maybe this is what Barrie Tilghman meant when she said that even with Dunn cutting and running to the county side, she had "plans" for him.
"Comegys: I'm not going to low bid my attorney just like I wouldn't low bid my Doctor. In 1998 &1999 we spent $180,000.00 in attorney fees. In today's money we're spending just about the same."
This one doesn't float. The 98and99 litigations involving the mayor's office, Chief Dykes, etc, was the most expensive year ever, and hasn't been equaled until the last year. Comegys sure can twist a stat, can't he?
Got some news for him, too. If he's going to be on the state's pension medical plan, he is going to have a low bid doctor.
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