It was very clear to me last night, citizens of Salisbury are just too busy, just too broke and just too tired to show up for Council Work Sessions any more. I sat alone in the audience for most of the meeting fighting and frustrated.
The meeting started out with John Pick stating "the government is trying to spend a lot of money." Homeland Security's matching funds for Fire Station II would help them move up the chain if the Council agreed to their proposal. They asked the City for $340,000.00 while they will get $2,500,000.00 from the federal government as stimulus money.
Gary Comegys said, if they came to me and said if you put down 20% on a brand new pickup truck and they'll pay the rest, would you turn it down? Mayor Ireton chimed in expressing how the City might not ever get the chance again to get this kind of money and how the Council should strongly consider it.
Now get this. With all due respect, ever since the election Louise Smith has been changing her tune on almost every issue. The woman who was all about funding the $14,000,000.00 Fir Palace has all of a sudden had a visit with the Lord and claims to realize she is now concerned about all this spending. HOWEVER, it is very scripted and very well planned out. As long as she sees certain topics going a certain way she starts playing "Good Cop, Bad Cop" with Gary Comegys, acting as if she's really concerned. The next thing you know she's compromising. Allow me to better explain.
Earlier in the meeting Deputy Chief Gordy stated that the Volunteers would pony up $140,000.00 of this money, SHOULD THEY HAVE THE FUNDING AT THE TIME. As the meeting went on, the $140k disappeared for a while until the very end where Louise Smith all of a sudden said, well, I'm against this unless the Fire Department comes up with let's say $150,000.00, then I'd feel better about it. She then got some resistance, (Shanie and Gary shaking their heads no) and Louise then said, well didn't you say the Volunteers were going to give up $140,000.00 Mr. Gordy? NO, he said. All of a sudden Gordy changed his tune and I don't care what anyone says, I have my notes and today I'll ask for last nights recording because I know for a fact he did.
All that being said, isn't that convenient how Louise was against it unless the Firefighters ponied up $150,000.00. You see Folks, nothing is getting stimulated while the President and Congress are running the presses 24/7 printing new money that continues to drop in value. They, (Mayor Ireton and some Council Members) think that because this will create 140 jobs for locals that this is stimulating the economy. No it's not, it's stimulating those same companies that seem to be SECURE from recession and depression because they're powerful enough locally to control ANY of the big jobs. While you have a guy like Billy Hill Construction who could probably build any structure better and more efficiently than any other big company around here, he doesn't have the bonding and background these contracts require. So the little guy gets boned and the big guys just keep getting bigger.
Here we have CRIME through the roof and the Police Chief wants 12 new Officers and they give him something like 4 or 6, that's it. They Fire Department, (last night) wanted funding for $880,000.00 for additional career Firefighters, yet they can't take care of the Police Department. At one point Chief Hoppes replied to Terry Cohen stating the Fire Department had never been on a call where they didn't have two men in, two men out. He admitted right then and there they had plenty of Firefighters, NOT including volunteers, mind you.
The Salisbury Police Department doesn't have volunteers and they need help. Louise Smith stated in this particular meeting that she wanted more Police Officers but the funding just wasn't there. No Louise, that's just not true. You wanted to cut out Debbie & Terry's health insurance to pay for other Officers but other than that you showed absolutely no support.
I guess what I'm trying to say here but I'm doing a poor job is, ALL of this is scripted. If you look at the Daily Times article today it becomes even more evident. I'll tell you why. The Reporter wasn't even in the room long enough to get the QUOTES she claimed in her article, she wasn't there!!!!! All of it is well prepared so that it all comes out perfectly scripted in the Daily Times the following day.
Be Afraid Americans, Be Very Afraid!!!!! Let me assure you that there will SOON come a time when Blogs will become a thing of the past because we tell you the truth and we tell you just how things really happened. If our Government can't control us the way they are doing so with the MSM, we're going to get crushed sooner than later. Our government, (even locally) is staging everything perfectly scripted so YOU only get to hear what they want you to hear.
Louise can't change her stripes, no way, no how. Some nay sayers will claim I'm being paranoid. Well, that's an easy charge to place on me. However, I've been doing this long enough to know for a fact, I smell a skunk and I'm very rarely wrong.
The taxpayers cannot afford this new Fire Station II. Have YOU received your new Tax Bill in the mail? How's it working for you Folks!!!!!!!!! My Father in Law just received his and it went up like $1,000.00 a year! There isn't a person I have spoken to that isn't freaking out over their new tax bill. Well, you tell me Folks, can YOU afford another increase on your taxes? When YOU voted for a new Council, didn't YOU vote for people YOU felt would fairly represent what YOU would do if YOU were on Council? How's THAT working for you! If these Council Members vote FOR the new Fire Station II, YOUR taxes WILL go up, it has to. YOU have to pay for it!
It's time the new Mayor put a freeze on ALL spending and if they can't get by, START LAYING PEOPLE OFF LIKE THE DAILY TIMES/GANNETT DID. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Comegys stated that we already borrowed $90,000.00 for an engineering study for this project, we might as well move forward with it and get it done. OK Dee, Dee, Deeee, the Salisbury Zoo wants $30,000,000.00 to build out a brand new Zoo, do you see them coming to the City Council almost every two weeks begging for that money? Let me also add, the Zoo has had numerous Master Plans designed for their facility, spending almost the same $90,000.00 in plans and drawings and next to nothing has been done. They are getting a new Animal Services Building but they have waited 50 years to get what they needed and they're scaling back quite a bit to make it more affordable.
This is NOT the time to move forward with yet another Fire Department project. We're in what the government calls a recession and I call a depression. Taking more stimulus money is only adding to our Country's problems. Our leaders in Salisbury are flat out being fiscally irresponsible, period.
We all know that the council members will always serve themselves first before the citizens of Salisbury. This is just politics as usual. I've given up hoping for REAL change. Your point about the Daily Times is right on! Hopefully, the citizens of Salisbury aren't living in a hole and realize they are being manipulated.
ReplyDeleteIt's obvious that the police department needs the money more than the fire department.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see both firefighters AND police get raises however in this economy we must first focus on immediate priorities.
Crime was the #1 issue during the election campaign. I think most of the citizens of Salisbury would agree and our representitives should represent our wishes before the money is spent on anything else.
Just because the federal government is giving money away, where do you think the federal government gets their money? From taxpayers, we are paying coming and going.
Joe:
ReplyDeleteMaybe I missed it in your discussion -- what if anything was actually "decided" -- informally, of course, it being a work session -- and by what vote (who & how), please.
The Federal Government is very busy with their plastic money, buying up the SOVEREIGNTY of local municiplaities and State Governments. They hand out money like it is government cheese, so they can then control the ASSETS. They are merging police and fire departments into a FEDERAL PROGRAM with Federal Control.
ReplyDeleteMasons like Webster, Gordy, Comegys and See believe everything they are being told in private meetings. But the spending will cost us our sovereignty and local control of our assets. Someone get a grip on these folks. They have been fooled. Fool a man, he wont get fooled again. Something like that.
Handing out money like government cheese LoL NOW THAT is funny!
ReplyDeleteWe normally attend the council meeting BUT was unaware we could attend the work session. We would have been there.
ReplyDeleteJim is a complete failure.
ReplyDeleteAt one point Chief Hoppes replied to Terry Cohen stating the Fire Department had never been on a call where they didn't have two men in, two men out.
ReplyDeleteRick Hoppes is a LIAR. Ask him how many were on the fire truck when the house at Frederick and Douglas burned to the foundation. They didn't have enough men so they had to let the structure burn.
BTW Rick Hoppes is not the fire chief, he is the ACTING fire chief.
11:29...
ReplyDeleteSo, after less than 3 months in office of a 4 year term, you're ready to make that judgment? What's your real name, Kreskin?
well it does not look like they are going to advertise for a new chief??
ReplyDeleteI am disappointed in Ireton behaving like a tax and spend liberal, I crossed party lines to vote for him hoping he would be more of a Blue Dog Dem but sadly he is proving to be another out of touch liberal.
ReplyDeleteanonymous 2:35, I'm with you on that statement. While I can't vote in Salisbury, I agree with your statement. He's proving to be a Tax & Spend liberal, using any excuse to make that spending accountable.
ReplyDeleteI stated this in the past and I meant it, if he doesn't straighten out very soon even I will consider running the next go around. While I do feel I can do a lot more right here from this Blog, if there's a bunch of losers running again I'll step in, I'll win and I'l make the changes Salisbury needs immediately.
However, I'll bet Ireton changes his tune within a year, we'll see.
Why should the Vollies in Salisbury have to pay for everything. The vollies just paid all this money for these new fire trucks runnig around. The City is on a mission to break the bank of the Vollies. Its not right. From my understanding the Vollies at station 2 paid for most of the plans to be drawn up so far. Remember ladies and gentleman. These people dont get paid for what they do but are continuesly hasseled for money for everything. i think it is about time the city do something in return for these peoples hard work. I aggree that the police need money to. Why dont we take the money from the salery that is being paid to the concil and the mayor and build these guys a new station and get more police. the vollies certainly deserve a new station to keep them happy and at the station. Give them something in return to show them the apprication they deserve.
ReplyDelete3:24
ReplyDeleteBecause Gordo says so.
Joe:
ReplyDeleteIf it takes Jim-beau another year before he "changes his tune" he's a one-termer (or less if he bails out once again)!
See you at "Flavors" real soon.
Not much longer til we begin to hear
ReplyDeleteHey Jimmy: I want my vote back.
The Vollies OWN Station 2, let them hold fundraiser dinners just like every other fire department in the county if they want a new building. I have a sneaking suspicion it isn't the Vollies that want a new building, its Bill Gordy and Gary Comegys that want a new building.
ReplyDeleteThey have that brand new over priced fire palace, let them use it to hold bingo's, dinners, casino nights, whatever to raise the money needed to build a new Station 2.
The taxpayers have paid more than enough for new fire toys. Lets buy some police toys.
Hear here.
ReplyDeleteBlogger joealbero said...
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'll bet Ireton changes his tune within a year, we'll see.
2:40 PM
With all due respect Joe, we don't have a year to wait for Jim to do his job, the job that we elected to do. Jim Ireton has proven to be a typical liberal democrat that will tell you what to hear just to get elected. He fooled many of us. He lied to ALL of us. This man needs to do what he promised us and get rid of all the department heads as he told many of us face to face. It was bad enough tolerating his cigarette breath, but to lie to us in our face with that same disgusting breath.
I think we would have been better off getting Bubba Comagees elected. At least we already knew what we were getting. We could have taken the chance to get a decent person to fill his seat and then we would have had a majority with a brain on the council.
Jim Ireton, I truly believe you are no more than a one term mayor and I am beginning to believe that the anti-Albero bloggers were correct in stating that you won't make it an entire term.
At this point if someone was to start a petition to recall the mayor I would be the first to sign it.
Interesting. The Feds offer billions of national dollars to local governments if the locals contribute a small portion of the total. That's a discount.
ReplyDeleteNow you criticize our local government for taking what is being offered. But all of us look for discounts when we shop. So, you're saying the locals shouldn't take the discount.
Chiefy should find fed dollars for more cops instead of wasting money on toys like his unused, unneeded fake SWAT, sorry, mobile command center. By the way, when Chiefy asked for a grant for 4 more cops didn't Council tell him to apply for 6? So, was that wrong too?
Lets say they get the grant to build the new station and the city matches the funds. Why are they not building the new station on the North end of town where they need one. The vollies at 2 can pull hours the same as the vollies at 16 are doing. They get the new station that is needed and the city doesnt have to build a 4th station. With budget cuts and restraints it makes sense to do it right the first time if you are going to do it.
ReplyDelete