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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFERS SOLUTION TO BUDGET AMENDMENT CONCERNS


With the recently completed official audit for Fiscal Year 2009 now in hand, Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr., has announced that an additional $3.5 Million are available to support the county’s Roads operation until the end of the current Fiscal Year on June 30, 2010. Until the County received the final audited fund balance report on the Roads fund, records indicated that these funds were encumbered and, therefore, not available. As a result of the updated information, Mr. Pollitt has withdrawn his pending budget amendment request for the use of General Fund appropriations to support Roads.

Mr. Pollitt commented, “This new information somewhat changes the overall budget amendment which the County Council has been considering since I submitted it in early October. In the General Fund, neither the revenue nor expense portion now includes additional appropriations for Roads, and therefore helps to conserve the County's General Fund reserves. I believe the adjusted amendment now conforms to my wishes and to Council’s stated intent to place Wicomico County in the best possible financial position to enter the upcoming Fiscal Year 2011 budget session.”

The county has been forced to consider using General Fund support for Roads operations since last summer’s State cut of roughly 94% in traditional Roads revenue. Pollitt has repeatedly pledged that he will not allow the Roads Department to close and that the roads will be kept safe.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a lot of Double Speak from the C/E. If 94% of the funds have been cut, and we can continue with Roads operations as usual!
Due the math, Wic Roads can operate on only 6%! I Just Don't Get It!
Is it just me or does this stink to anyone else?
kn

Anonymous said...

If Pollitt decided instead to use that money to buy 15 more acres at the old mall for $250,000 per acre, then he only needs a little bit more tax dollars to do that deal. In addition to the 5 acres for 1.5 Million that would come to over 5 Million Dollars for 20 acres.

Anonymous said...

$3.5 just "appears" like that? Now watch this, I bet the County will try to find some way of frivolously spending this money on some stupid roads project that isn't neccessary!

I bet Gary Mackes will cry and moan that it should go to pay for the paving of the new, over priced parking lot he wants!

Anonymous said...

It is a shame that it takes the auditor's work to figure out what is really on the books. What a wonderful system!

Anonymous said...

what does this say about the supposed $6 million dollar budget deficit Rick was trying to close? Does this mean that he only needs to close $2.5 million dollars as the council wants or is this $3.5 million for roads something else? Can someone please explain?

Anonymous said...

Is Pam Oland doing the county's finance work now too?

Anonymous said...

Let the mismanagement and incompetence continue!

Anonymous said...

I WANT MY FURLOUGH DAYS BACK!!

Anonymous said...

Someone needs to answer some questions! How do you just find 3.5 mil? Sounds like a bunch of political hocu pocus to me at the employees expense. I thought after the landfill mess that there would be better bookkeeping, aparently not! Why did they need to furlough all of the employees? This is the time for the council to start demanding some answers and put an end to the monkey business. Congratulations voice, how is the executive charter ammendment working for you?

Anonymous said...

The Finance Director needs to be replaced. Year after year the auditors just happen to "FIND" funds. What are we paying those in Finance- this shows they can not even account for monies correctly.

elroy jetson said...

smells like a rat in the woodpile to me! has the internal auditor that matt o lantern creamer give the boot to ever been replaced?maybe when the rest of the county divisions have been audited they can find enuff to give us our furlough money back! a new internal auditor, matt a dentist, and ricky p a pet elephant to guide him thru till november