Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr. submitted a supplemental budget for the Roads Division to the Wicomico County Council today following just-announced new cuts of over $700,000 from the State’s Highway User Revenue (HUR) Fund.
Anticipated Highway User Revenue for the current Fiscal Year is $6.3 Million. The allotment for next year is $3.5 Million, including the most recent cut of slightly more than $700,000.
As a result of the funding cuts, it is proposed for Fiscal Year 2010 that 6 Roads vacant positions will remain unfilled; 6 Roads workers will be transferred to Solid Waste to fill existing vacancies; 1 position will remain vacant due to retirement and 9 seasonal workers will not be hired as planned. The cuts will reduce the Roads staff to 50 employees from its current 63.
As a result of the work-force reduction, the number of operating crews that cover 711 miles of county roads will be reduced from 5 crews to 3. Street sweeping and leaf collection services will be eliminated. Mowing will be reduced.
At the instruction of Executive Pollitt, ferry service will not be reduced.
Wicomico County Roads is slated to receive $1.8 Million in Federal Stimulus funds. This money will be used exclusively for blacktopping on 14 county roads projects. It may not be used to cover salaries or equipment.
Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr. reacted to the Roads cuts by saying, “We are in a tough economy and the Roads Division has taken the severest cut of all county divisions. Despite the cutback in services that we are able to provide to our motoring citizens and visitors, we shall make sure that our roads are safe for travel.”
15 comments:
So in this case, Obama's stimulus money will actually lose jobs. Interesting...
We have all those people sitting on their butts in jail, why not put them to work cutting grass
Its going to be a bumpy road....literally!
anon 4:20 pm Back in the days of my era I worked work crews with up to 8 inmates withe the county rds division.We covered every road in the county over the years.This included trash pick ups,ditch cleaning,road cleaning. We covered airport runway maintence,painting. In the winter months we shoveled snow,put chains on the county rds vehicles.We had a work crew for each of the lower counties during the same work.The state had a work detail in each county 5 days a week,including a crew assigned to assist forest rangers when a fire occured.We helped to build assiteague state park.Dunes were built,assisted in dune grass replanted. However this does exsist anymore the powers to be will not abuse prisoners with common work anymore. They would rather provide them with on grounds family visits so they can have more kids. The county has one ditch cleaning crew period and we have in Wicomico County one of the dirtest county side roads on the lower shore. I would like Pollitt to ride those roads on a sunday morning.I agree with you anon those people could be used alot better.
Does this mean the higher ranking officers of the Sheriff's office will be hitting the beat? Or still sit behind desk? I've heard they are TOP heavy.
I bet you could save 2 or 3 of those road,s positions if Ted Shea retired and let Rick run the county.
The Roads Division is showing the way for the BOE and I hope they'll take it to heart!
In these trying times this division really needs strong leadership to make things run efficiently.We still have the same guy that was part of the leadership that let money just escape the landfill. He may not be guilty of wrong doing but clearly he has to share in the blame for not noticing or questioning increase in fuel usage.How will this effect the collector rd. by the landfill? I bet the county wish it had some of the money back for all the change orders for phase 1 of the collector rd. maybe this 700k cut wouldn't have to be made.
Why not make that loser Ray Lewis pay back all the money he owes this county? I'm sure it was going on long before we got a sheriff with balls to slam this loser.
yea the one overseeing the landfill now is about 2 clicks above zug status.wico needs a fresh mind to oversee that division.someone with the hands on plus the education in a engineering degree.
cutting pork at the bottom? How stupid do they think we tax payers are? Wheres the other cuts Rick? Your bad as the BOE, they threaten our children to get money...and you threaten our roads...as if they werent in the worst shape already.
Why didnt pollitt take a cut?
Why did this happen look into the revenue the landfill takes in.
Albero would you look into the amount of revenue produced from the dumping fees at the landfill?
And post it on this blog .
6.5 million a year going into the landfill, and 4.3 for the budget, 2.2 in the escrow for new landfill cells, and the county can not touch that fund unless they pay it back with interest $$$$$$$. I think ALL the top dogs should take a pay cut
I think the ferries should be dropped from the county roads. Sell them to a private company and let the handle them, let the state have them. These ferries only cost the county money, they do not make any. Every couple years they have to be overhauled approximately $150,000 each with maintenance,labor, fuel your are looking at about another $170,000 per year. I think there should be a charge for the ferry users a fee to cross. They are just dead weight. The guys that operate the ferries get alot of crap from users. In the summer months they stay on the ferry for 14 hours a day. If they go the bathroom, people complain because they have to wait, if they close for winds, high tide, fog, etc people just bitch. People need to call the ferry hotline before they go the ferries to see if they are open, If not they can just go the hell around.
The rumor was the ferry hours were going to be winter hours all year to save money. To many people bitched because they would have to go around, takes what 15-20 minutes from upper ferry. They need to get a life.
For the small percentage of people in the county who actually use the ferries, they would be the most logical cuts. But I guess it is easier to get to nithsdale, the yacht club, and to the Red Roost for all the old, rich drunks who like to take "the back way". I will bet the division could save 250K a year by eliminating both ferries. Let this serve as notice to all those who b!tch about not wanting taxes. These are the types of cuts you evidentally want, so when the grass is 3 feet tall along the road in front of your house, CUT IT YOURSELF, when the gutters are full of leaves (nithsdale) that you pushed out in the road on purpose so you wouldnt have to mess up your Hummer and the County would have to pick it up, CLEAN IT UP YOURSELF, when the road is icy in front of your house, GET OUT YOUR HAIRDRYER AND AN EXTENSION CORD, when you b!tch and complain about trash like it was acutally the county littering and not your neighbors and you DEMAND for it to be picked up, GET YOURSELF A STICK WITH A NAIL ON THE END AND A TRASHBAG AND PICK IT UP YOURSELF. This list could go on and on. But this must be what everyone wants.
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