Dear Recreation and Parks Stakeholder:
Over the last several days many of you have likely been following the media coverage regarding the fiscal crisis taking place within the state of Maryland and the spin-off effect it is having upon the Wicomico County government.
The information the State has shared with the County has been unlike any news we’ve received in the past. The news was unexpected and has created difficult challenges that require quick action on the part of the county government.
Many changes have been prepared that will be presented to the County Council by the County Executive at their September 15th meeting. Every effort has been made to be responsible, yet fair, in the decisions that have been made. However the changes have been extreme in some cases. We value the time and effort you have committed to the Department and need to share these changes with you.
A meeting has been set for Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 7:00 PM in the
Da Nang Room of the Wicomico County Youth & Civic Center. The goal is to communicate the changes to the Recreation & Parks budget with you for a clear understanding of their impact.
We look forward to seeing you Tuesday evening.
Sincerely,
Gary W. Mackes
Director
13 comments:
Joe, thanks for posting this. This is a clear attempt by Gary Mackes to circumvent the budget cutting process and go on the attack of his bosses. This is nothing more than a scare tactic to get the employees of Parks and Rec's riled up in fear of the proposed cuts. This man is dangerous and does this every time he wants something for the civic center and parks and rec's. This man needs to be stopped dead in his tracks, Pollitt and the Seven Dwarfs on the County Council don't have the balls to put a stop to him. If they had any balls they would put a stop to this meeting and forbid him from calling these types of meetings again.
By the way who is going to pay for the electricity at the civic center that evening? I wonder if any will be getting overtime to attend this meeting?
Do you think that Mackes is charging himself those Civic Center Improvement fees to hold this meeting there?
Parks and rec is a joke!! they should have been done away with a long time ago. Pollitt, get rid of this waste of money now, we don't NEED it!!
I will say this, at least this department head is doing the right thing and letting his employees be involved and aware of what is going on. Unlike employees in other departments who are treated like mushrooms (kept in the dark and fed a bunch of.. you know what), and find out about their jobs from rumor, or from the media. I have not once heard our department head say anything about impending cuts, or what the plan is. Maybe we need some new department heads. You never know, maybe the grunts could have some good ideas on the way the county could find savings. After all, how many of the powers that be are actually familiar with daily operations of the departmens, for that matter, how many department heads are actually familiar with day to day operations?
Ah, Cmon. Mackes has a responsibility to communicate to all his constituencies about the impact of the budget cuts. I agree that Rec & Parks will have to take a big hit, but I see nuttin' wrong with this communication. give him a break. It's hell if you do and hell if you don't.
You b**** if the departments aren't contacted and allowed to vote on cuts, you b**** when Mackes contacts his department to discuss it. Will anything make you happy?
If they get rid of parks & rec are you thinking about what goes with it?
How much money did Pork in the Park bring in for Wicomico Co?
The recent USSSA Softball tournament, that did bring in money! They had to sleep and eat somewhere.
For all of you who have tickets for the upcoming shows coming to the Civic Center, you do know who arranged that don't you? This is something special for those who can't get to DC or to NY to see the shows.
There's the upcoming winefest next month which helps promote the Maryland companies.
Take away this program and sit back, watch the local businesses fall apart. The locals don't need to sleep in the hotels. They sure can't afford to go out and eat like they once did.
Yes, parks & rec will be hit with cuts just like every other dept in Wicomico Co. Have you ever taken a look at just how many volunteers there are that make up parks & rec? MANY! They don't get paid a cent for all the hours they put in to help make things possible for this community.
I will continue to put in many unpaid hours so that you have a good time.
To hell with the parks and recreation dept.
The state has taxed us to death and now the employees of the state should be cut, no longer a free ride on the tax payer.
All parks and recreation should be stopped , if not self supporting.
Layoff state workers now.
we do not need them they are and always have been usless.
11:40 AM, 11:42 AM, 12:15 PM,
LMAO, Looks like Mackes and his followers have started already with damage control.
I say cut out parks and recs all together. They don't bring in much money to this county at all, it is just fluff numbers to justify their jobs.
Parks and rec's does not pay for itself. The county buys all this land with Open Space money from the state and it is bought with OUR tax dollars. Then it costs millions of dollars to maintain and no one hardly uses them. What a freakin joke.
Well, for starters the meet could be at his home or even outdoors if it is at all necessary.
But, I agree, parks & rec is & has been a large burden on our locals' wallets, imo.
Sports events do bring people here who spend their money in local hotels, restaurants, etc. However, Mackes is like so many long-term government employees and/or elected officials who learn and play the game of politics very well and so should be limited to their time in service. Money could be saved by "asking" eligible employees to retire or face being laid off.
i bet u anything the people with the negative comments have gone to a event that has been put on by rec and parks or have gone to a childs game that has been played in the parks so go ahead and take them away and where u gonna go then
Does anyone know how much the budget for Recreation and Parks is? If these are desperate times, then we really need to ask the question "What is a want, and what is a need?" Almost everything in Recs and Park would, I'm sure, be a "want." It's virtually all for our entertainment. In times like these, entertainment is not a necessity.
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