I have said for the last twentys years the corruption in Wicomico County is deep. Corruption does not have to be criminal.
I thought this crap stopped with Carl Peterson and Matt Craemer losing control of the the ball. I quess not.
The County Roads has been underpaid for so long it is embarssing. The Jail has been in National News in the wrong same thing. The teachers have been taken care of for sooooooo long. The deputies have taken one screwing after another by the County Council and Human Resources I am shocked they have not filed a unfair labor practice suit.
Actually every county worker who did not get FIFTY THOUSAND plus paid into their retirement account should file suit. Hell even contractual could get in on this one. Right Ed Baker and Council. Oh thats right Ed you can not give legal advise on this issue because you are the one that got the FIFTY THOUSAND bucks paid into your retirement.
Was that a bonus for screwing every man and women that wears a badge in this county. I sure hope not. I guess that fifty K was in Ricks lunch box ????
Darn my bad. Sorry fella for throwing you and the rest of the crooked ass politicians under the bus.
Is anyone listening "trash cans". We got furlough days and Ed Baker got Fifty K. W.T.F. is going on in wicomico. They took food off of your table and caught this guy up in the retirement system. WOW Maybe Sheila Dixon can come down and run the county. She is a saint compared to what we have right now. Furlough days but we do need a new Library.
Mike Lewis where do you stand on this. I have not seen or heard one word about this from you and it does affect your workers. Gary Mackes what about you. WCBOE what about you. Oh sorry B.O.E. that would be a cut for you guys. County Roads speak up. Health Dept. Corrections.
I think all the county employees need to contact the TEAMSTERS. Hellooooooo. They scared the crap out of the Chicken King for a reason. I guess sometimes you just have to go to Hell to fight the Devil. I am no fan of any labor union but you can only keep taking the beating by goverment for so long.
Mike Lewis if you sit on your hands here you will regret it. You are elected. They can not fire you. You are the the elected law of the county. I am by no means saying you are, but if you are, you will never be able to live with yourself. Do what is right and just here.
Demand an audit. Look into this rumor about Ed Baker and the FIFTY K put into his retirement account while you have deputies with the worst disbility in the state. Take action if it is true. The men and women who go out day in and day out fighting crime deserve it. Clean up that crooked cess pool located right behind your building. Demand the truth from your County Council on issues with your budget. All the county employees not just deputies are watching.
God Help this county when I retire or get fired and have no fear of reprisal.
"By the sweat of thy brow"
God Bless America
One angry Wicomican.
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
29 comments:
AMEN! Well said and ditto!
50 Thousand Dollars???? I'm for the unfair labor practices lawsuit.
This is absolutely rediculous.
I'm calling for the whole County Council to be voted out. Let's start anew, I'm sick and tired of this good ole boy system.
I hear you Wicomican. Since this is an election year and not only Rick but the county council as well have to run for re-election, you should confront THEM with these questions. Mike Lewis has to run again as well.
One of the problems is the politicians in this county only have to worry about the 500 employees - many who do not live in Wicomico County and are not voters. They can get away with just about anything - including your examples. They only have to worry about the constituents in their respective districts and NOT you or your coworkers. Don't get mad - get even. Organize a political movement and help defeat their re-election efforts.
Doe the writer of this post know about the plan for the County to pa $300,000 per acre for land across the street from the Civic Center?
If you don't like the circumstances of your employment, you can always change jobs.
Let's not forget Creamer's $10,000 raise in 2008.
The Slate needs to be wiped clean--It's not just about law enforcement getting taken----the TAXPAYERS of this County have been screwed to the enth degree!!!! Pollitt, Cramer & some other Big Salarys need to go----& now!!! They are rediculous!!They do much of nothing for the County. Bakers little 50 grand was a slap in the face to the people of this county ,as were the raises Mr. P gave when he first went in.
People ----wake up----Salisbury is not a good place to live anymore! Corruption abounds here!!! Get them out, demand the public gets to see what is spent & by whom!
11:28
I'm not an employee of this County but am a tax payer and I just heard about this 50 thousand dollar benefit. To say that this pisses me off to no end is an understatement. I am FURIOUS with this County and they're ability to play the game so it's in their favor, not the Counties favor, but in their favor and their bunky's favor...
And as for the employees that give their time and patience for this County finding another job? You sound like one of the County Council or one who has made out by a bunky...making that statement...hmmm...you must have made out pretty well, would you care to disseminate that information?
For you to even suggest that someone should go find another job because they are unhappy with the County's spending and caretaking of their friends is outrageous. That's like saying that you'll move if we have a President we don't like. Nope, not gonna happen. But what will happen is for you to be voted out. Look what happened in Mass. Just a matter of time "bunky"
The "Baker 50K" --- Did Mr. P put that forward for the council to vote on? If so, what council members supported it? Anyone know?
Let's not throw the whole group out if some were trying to do the right thing.
2:31
Sorry to bust your bubble but I'm just a taxpayer in Wicomoico also. My emplotmnet was located in the state of Delaware for over 40 years, so I don't think I benefited much from the council. Everytime I bitched about my employment, I was advised that I could always go elsewhere. If thats the answer for us that work in the private sector, then it can also bet the answer to the government employees. In this environment be glad you have a job.
Wicomico County has got to have the worst checks & balances system I have ever heard of period. Wicomico County citizens, although I am not sure why, gave the county a pass on the landfill debacle when a more appropriate course of action would have ended with all those culpable being incarcerated not retired with a fat check every month!The very thought that within a roads budget $3.5 million would show up only as the result of an outside auditor is laughable. The citizens of Wicomico County should wonder just how much money has gone unaccounted for over the last several decades and with this unnerving thought in mind the citizens should call for wholesale changes in the county finances and establish a zero tolerance policy for stupidity!
Chip Carper
Hebron,MD
The problem is that publicly county employees are told to speak up when they see things going on that are not right, but when we do, we are retaliated against and our livelihoods are put in jeopardy. What are we supposed to do? I could put things on here that would shock you all.(most of you) but as one person wrote, "in this economy" we had better just shut up and go with the flow. It is sad to try and be a good and hardworking employee to hear if you don't like it, there's the door. Especially a county employee who is for the most part underpaid and underappreciated. The employee hotline is a joke. I don't know who authored the post, but hats off to you. At some point the economy will come around, and I know when it does, me and lots of other county employees will be looking for greener pastures since the whole thing about sacrificing pay for job security and this whole "family" of employees thing is a bunch of crap. No one should be told if you don't like it there is the door, and those of you that suggest that mentality is ok? Well then you are just angry because you don't have a job right now, or are one of those in management with that philosophy.
Joe,
What a great post. That person needs to run for office. It is that kind of passion that can not be bought or sold. It appeared the person was asking if it is true about the contibution to Baker's retirement. Is there any truth to this??
The other points made seemed to be for the good od all. The person seemed to care about everybody. Is this person inside Pollitt's shop ?? Is it a council member ??
Whoever wrote it seems to think Mikle Lewis can fix this. I agree and not. Lewis is s great Sheriff as we all can see. This seems a bit deeper than a Sheriff can investigate. Should he get involved on behalf of all county eployees ?? or just his deputies. I think the writer had a valid point in that they can not touch the Sheriff.
If the council was for this I would have a real issue. Why was it not presented at a council meeting. I could not find it in any of the minutes.
That amount of tax money being placed in a contractual employees account does not sound ehtical. Was it baker's private retirement fund ?
The other scarey thing is he was the County Atorney that drafted the language for Question "A" that involved the deputies getting collective bargaining. Was it a bonus of some sort for the failure of the endever by these men and women to get better working benefits?
This thing stinks on many levels.
Good luck to all the county employees in your efforts to find the truth in this matter.
Unfortunately, nothing will ever be done beacuse there is such a corrupt strong hold on our local government. Cleaning house won't even stop the corruption because elected officials are only half of the problem. The County has been operating in corrupt heirachy of seniority for decades now-you think that getting a whole new council and excecutive is going to solve anything? NO! You still have Shea, Creamer, Finneran and a lot of the department heads sill in the good ole boy network! Even the administrative assistants have substantial seniority power-it's ridiculous! The County can't even hire an internal auditor and allow her to do her job properly! That's right...you remember her, Deanne Walker-the one that got fired, but nobody ever really knew why? The County was seeking out an internal auditor for nearly 2 years and then when they finally found somebody willing to be "the rat" they hired and fired her within 6 months. Does anybody know why she was fired? Does anybody know why the Council didn't give reason for firing here? Does anybody know why the media didn't cover it? I know why-she was DOING HER JOB! She was conducting her standard audits on everyone and everything per her job description, but she was getting too close to uncovering Creamer and his daily practice of stealing time from the County and he put an end to it. He contacted the Council and they terminated her. Unfortunately for Mrs. Walker, her position was a hire and fire at will position and they didn't need a reason to nix her. It's pretty convenient how that position is set up isn't it? The Council hires somebody to provide checks and balances but they themselves are immune to investigation? I say you allow a auditor come in that answers to NOBODY-they are their own authority! That way the good ole boy network can't hold up. I'm sick of seeing it myself, but they are above everybody and unfortunately the citizens of Wicomico County are ignorant to the way they vote. They vote these pricks into office over and over again-The voters are to blame for the corrupt elected officials! As for people like Shea, Creamer and Finneran-They are going to be there until somebody with big enough balls gets elected and decides to clean house! Until then they will all continue to steal time, milk the clock, collect their overpaid payroll and cheat the tax payers of Wicomico County.
And what about the young lady shown the door in the Health Department for doing her job to enforce new State regulations that slowed local growth - and disrupted the good-ole- boy network that sides with local developers? A part of Pollitt's so-called "friendlier" health department!
3:37-apparently that was your management style. So glad that you are either retired or fired. Either or doesn't really matter but if you think that that's a great style, you must have been a great employee!
Whats the surprise. I did not see of the Council looking for Sarah Foxwell. I was out there every day. I think is lends to just what type of people we have been electing.
Joe do us all a favor and stay on this.
To 11:28 & 3:37 it is people just like you that created this very type of corruption. I am by no means an under achiever. I have worked in this county for over 15 years. I have earned every red cent.
I have left my blood on the roads of Wicomico County ( Litterally ) I have arrested murders, rapist, robbers, child sex offenders, I have changed your tire, worked holidays, missed my childrens birthdays, watch my fellow deputies bleed for you. So to say I am lucky to have a job. NO my friend the County was lucky to have me and those like me.
The men and women of the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office are some of the finest people I have ever met. They take the risk stated above knowing if they are injured in the line of duty and can not work as a deputy any longer. They will lose everything they have.
I am not sure if the Baker information is true. The only blood that man shed is at the very most is a paper cut.
If County Exec. Pollitt and the Council gave this man all the back time at our exspense I can assure you it will come out in the wash.
I guess the way I see it. Is you are part of the problem or part of the solution.
It is not just deputies it is all county workers that got the shaft here.
There are some excellent points here, you should keep investigating. Check out the Civic Center there is a history of abuse there. Creamer let a couple of his buddies be directors and both embezzled.
10:05 it runs deep. This is just the tip of the ice berg. The last twenty years we have all seen the lost millions at budget time to be found later to support the agenda of those we elected.
I am angry and disgusted. I look into the eyes of the young men and women that work so hard for this county. This is how they rewrd the loyality and conviction.
I have lost faith in this goverment. It is an election year. We will see the old Wicomico side step being danced by all of them. If there is any intergrity left in the county you better step foward now. It will be to late in the eleventh hour. The lack of charecter the council has shown speaks volumes to me.
The acts of man that he does for himself go to the grave with him. The good we do for others lives for eternity. Doing the right thing is hard at times. Anyone can be narcistic and wrong it really is easy based on what i have seen here.
We have the abilty to make things right. We as Americans are blessed with this power. It is sad times when we can not trust those we have put so much faith in.
I have made a promise to my God to pursue those who are corrupt. I know I will not forget. If half of this proves true we need to remove each and evryone of them.
8:27 Wrong again, I was a wage roll employee, not management.
9:56 I didn't create any corruption, I just went to work for 40 years and did my job. You have not changed my tire, and I doubt very seriously that you have worked any more Sundays or holidays than I have. The men and women of the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office or no finer than the average Wicomico County taxpayer paying their salary. I've watched these county workers over the years sit in the vehicles for hours, in out of the way places until it was time to go back to Salisbury and punch out the time clock. So don't tell me how hard working the County employees are. Have a nice day.
Another example is the director of HR. He used to be Shea's assistant, but when the new exec. Govt started, his position would be eliminated, so what did they do? They made him a director of a department, no advertisment, no experience, no degree in that field. Now hips department has se of the highest paid employees in the county and they don't do $hit! Once in a while they forward an email around. This county is good about sliding people around that they want to take care of. Just wait till after this budget year and see how many people work in different deparents.
10:05p..Yea, Remember Bob Wagoner?
Not an honest dude. Prettyman worked on getting him out of the county. She got the lowdown on him and pushed until he was gone. AND,
this was under Phil Tilghman's watch. I know how her business lost advertisers because "the good old boys" put lots of spins on this and made her look like she was "just after him." She didn't back down. Kudo's to her.
6:29 and 10:53
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
God sees all of them and knows EVERYTHING about their past.
I guess Ted Shea did not open up his head did not listen to GOD last year.
Let go and Let GOD.
Hey big talking 12:59. Why don't you leave your name and the position that you retired from? You, unlike current employees, have nothing to lose. If you make up an excuse, and do not state your name, and previous position, your opinion is meaningless and cannot be believed. Until then, I will assume that you were just another corrupt politician, or a member of the old boy club.
Current employees will end up unemployed if they leave their names.
12:59. You worked for 40 years, and were never promoted to a supervisory position? You must have been dead weight, and should have been fired. You must be proud of your career, and you have a lot of room to put down cops.
12:59 you do not get the message it is not that deputies or any county employee deserves "Speacial treatment" that is the point. Kudos to you for forty years of service. I will say there are those that fight the battle and there are those that do not.
This has to do with a goverment not doing what is right for all employees. Not about any one class. All have a role in the function of goverment. I see what the poster is saying. Keeping your mouth shut in such a gross injustice to all would be wrong. I think the person speaking up could take other avenues, but just the same i think he or she has a valid complaint.
I think county workers have heard far to long you are lucky to be working, they like yourself have served and it is not right to reward one and not all under the circumstances,
I truly hope there are people out there planning to run for office this year that intend to fight for the things the citizens want. The whole county government is corrupt, we elected Rick Pollitt to be a leader and look out for this county and he has done NOTHING of the sort and why does Ted Shea still have a job? Doesn't he do what Pollitt does, I would love for someone to post a job description for both Rick and Ted and let us see what the differences are, because I for one don't understand. Maybe an audit would turn up more money, didn't the county just find several million the was put in the "wrong" account or something? I don't remember the exact details but how many other times has this been done and still being done?
Joe I think you need to repost this story at the top of your site so we can continue this discussion and give the members of the county council time to read all these comments. They are not doing what the citizens of the county elected them to do and they should know their jobs are on the line, I live on the eastside of the county and can tell you my vote will not be cast for Joe Halloway.
2:20pm Let's see. You say Shea & Pollitt do the same job. You also say the county council isn't doing what the citizens elected them to do. Please explain these statements.
Joe report to the top so this can continue. i think some people missed it. It does may spawn many more post in the coming days.
Thanks for all you do
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