Last week, Wicomico County Councilman Bill McCain held a town hall meeting to discuss raising property taxes to meet the county's ever growing spending problem. Wicomico AFP dominated that meeting and we successfully delivered the message for our county leaders to balance the budget. We set the tone of that meeting, but the battle to keep County Executive, Rick Pollitt, from raising our taxes is not over. It's just begun. For more information on last weeks meeting, please see the various coverage Here, Here, and Here.
Also of note, Dave and I went into the liberal belly of the beast and did an interview on NPR Radio last week. I have to say I was quite pleased with it overall. If you'd like to listen to it, just Click Here. Let me know what you think!
Now on to the action items.....
MONDAY April 5th: MDGOP Townhall Meeting "Take Back Washington and Annapolis" 6:30 PM Civic Center in the DaNang Room and what do the Republicans have to say? Well, let's find out!
Monday, April 5th 6:30pm Doors Open at 6:15pmWicomico County Youth & Civic Center Danang Room
This event is free and open to the public. If you plan to attend please email Kim Jorns at mailto:kjorns@mdgop.orgDemocrat Leadership in both Annapolis and Washington continue to tune out the people of Maryland. Frustrations are growing! Join us for the opportunity to discuss the current state of Maryland and the Nation with Audrey Scott, Chairman of the Maryland Republican Party. Chairman Scott will discuss what the MDGOP is doing to put a stop to one-party rule in Annapolis and Washington and she will LISTEN to your ideas, needs and concerns.
We hope you will join us for this open dialogue
TUESDAY April 6th: Wicomico County Council NIGHT Meeting! April 6th 6pm Salisbury GOB Building
We've been asking for it! Transparency and access to the Wicomico County Council meetings. After nearly a year of beating this drum, the council gave in just a slight amount and offered up quarterly evening meetings. THIS Tuesday is it!
Scheduling the council conducting meetings at night when most working people can attend should be a no brainer, but it's almost been a year long battle of asking, and yes demanding they serve the people who pay the taxes. Yet we have made marginal progress to engage with out local government.
PLEASE forward this email, call your friends and neighbors and make it out to Tuesday night's meeting. This should be a good meeting with issues of Storm Water Management and Elected School Board members on the agenda. Please see the agenda here.
Remember our county is having some serious budget problems and unless we get involved and show up, your taxes will be raised to fill that gap. That is no exaggeration. It is up to us!
Please email me back and let me know if you can make it.
THURSDAY April 8th: County Executive Rick Pollitt's Budget Preview Meeting 7pm Civic Center: Flanders Room
I ran into a few of the more conservative county council members over the weekend and they urged me to get folks out to this meeting. Rick Pollitt wants to raise our taxes. He has made no bones about it. He is trying to get a ground swell to repeal the revenue cap. Please come out to this event and get any property owner you know to attend as well.Please let me know if you can attend with a quick email.
Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr., announced today that he will hold his 4th annual budget preview meeting on Thursday, April 8th beginning at 7:00 P.M. in the Flanders Rooms of the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center. As always, the public is invited and encouraged to attend. Mr. Pollitt said, "The current Fiscal Year 2010 operating budget is $120.7 Million. That is $8.8 Million below the budget for FY 2009 and $11.3 Million below the first budget I proposed for FY 2008. Due to a drastic decrease in property and income tax revenue as well as in state funding, I am estimating that this year's proposal will be significantly lower, probably somewhere around $110 Million. The major portion of the county budget is dedicated to education and public safety." "The budget for next year is still evolving," continued Pollitt, "and I am eager to share the progress thus far with our citizens at the meeting on April 8th. We have many challenges in front of us and we need to move forward together."Mr. Pollitt will submit his proposed budget to the Wicomico County Council on or before April 15th
Wicomico TEA Party Thursday April 15th 3- 7pm in Front of the GOB Salisbury, Maryland
This year's TEA Party promises to be massive and we need your help and input to plan it! Make sure you pre-register and ask your family and friends to pre-register, so we can have an idea of how many people will attend and so we can get new folks in the AFP community. We will hold a pre-planning meeting the week before the TEA Party. Details to follow. If you would like to help, please contact Chris Lewis by emailing him at sbyteaparty@yahoo.com See you then!
Stop The Health Care Takeover In Maryland! Click here to find out how.
Wicomico AFP April 28th Meeting - 4th Wednesday 7pm Brew River
As you may know by now, we are holding our monthly meetings every 4th Wednesday at Brew River at 7pm. Please bring your family and friends. We will spend our efforts on the upcoming elections and the Maryland and local issues, including candidates for 2010. We will also begin a series of on ativist training.
As always, if you have suggestions, ideas, or ways to improve this experience, please contact Julie at 410-251-8884. If you would like to take a leadership role or have an idea for a guest speaker, please contact me. Out of a courtesy for everyone's time please make your requests well in advance. We value your input and we need your direction. Most of all, we need you to step up and volunteer to do the organizational work! Many of you have on bus trips and various call to actions and I must say, we have a very talented bunch! Thank you all what for what you have done thus far!
Let's take back Wicomico county and the state of Maryland. Together, we can.
Now is the time to get out and get involved. We can not wait any longer for anyone else to do it for us!
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
6 comments:
Given the property tax cap in place, how would it be possible to raise taxes? Since the voters approved the cap, it would also require the voters repeal it. How likely would that be?
If it is not tax and spend in america, then what is it now a days?
The county is required by charter to adopt a balanced budget..I am not quite sure why the person who wrote this makes the comment " we successfully deliver the message to our county leaders to balance the budget"...they have to by law.
As for raising taxes,there is nothing that can be done for this fiscal year...nothing.Any tax peasure would have to be approved by the state legislature and could not possibly take effect in the ocming fiscal year.
Mc Cain himslef said that the revenue cap would only yeild $ 1 million if removed....that's about $ 10 to $15 million short.
The county already imposes the highest piggyback rate allowable..so so chance there.
The reality is that local government has to be restructured...period. There is no othe rway out of this crisis.
Pollitt can start now by terminating the "public information officer" on his staff.
I am so disgusted at this pack of thieves I don't think I could conduct myself in a productive manner. I may have to miss the meeting. My only suggestion is Cut Them Off. Do you remember enough is enough? It worked on Barry, why not these clowns. Did we learn nothing from the mall debacle? eyes open
Mr. Albero
Would you please find out how much income the county is getting from the landfill.
I know a few years ago the landfill was making big bucks with there fees, not only to the taxpayers but from businesses that have to dump there.
Is this posted somewhere ?
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