As reported yesterday morning, the Wicomico County Council has agreed to cut $100,000 from the salary category of the Wicomico County Executive’s budget for FY 2012. The cuts will be recommended to go into the “contingency” account so that the council can later approve County Executive Rick Pollitt’s re-organization plan without having to impose additional cuts on already strapped departments.
On Wednesday, councilman Joe Holloway proposed cutting $100,000 from Pollitt’s budget. It was rejected with only council members (Joe) Holloway (R-5), Bob Culver (R – At-Large), and Stevie Prettyman (R-2) supporting the measure. Council members Gail Bartkovich (R-3), Bob Caldwell (R-4), (Matt) Holloway (R – At-Large), and Sheree Sample-Hughes (D-1) all voted against the measure.
Apparently, the Republican members who opposed (Joe) Holloway’s Wednesday motion had a change of heart over the ensuing two days. On Friday, Culver proposed essentially the same motion as (Joe) Holloway’s Wednesday proposal. All four Republicans who opposed on Wednesday decided to support the plan at Friday’s meeting.
Voters should remember that this is not final. Nothing is set in stone until the actual budget bill passes. Pollitt may balk at putting the funds in contingency. At that point the council can either reduce the tax rate by a small amount or cave in to Pollitt once again.
For most of four years Pollitt was out and about plenty. His goal had little to do with promoting the county, but was time spent attempting to build grassroots support for the repeal of the revenue cap.
In addition, council has the opportunity to extract multiple concessions from Pollitt. For starters, they could demand that Pollitt me with them in open session – something he refuses to do UNLESS HE WANTS SOMETHING!
Council is expected to vote on a finalized budget on June 14th.
17 comments:
Council! Stop playing around with this man. We clearly voted for fiscal responsibility and that is why you are there. Tricky Ricky got lucky that he has enough court jesters to vote him back in. WE do not want his tax and spend politics. Stick to your guns! Drop his exec. staff $150,000 to keep the number of FTE's and salary increases DOWN. And, try to get a REAL budget from him (he won't tell you the bottom line truth, we all know that) and cut his budget so the five cent increase won't take place. Stay your course!!! We "WILL" support you for doing it. Thank you!
I hope Bob Culver runs for county exec in the next election.
County Council please stick to your guns!!Mr. Pollitt does not need a larger staff so he can be "out and about", that is part of the problem now, after all these years Mr. Pollitt still does not know how to run the County or how to do a budget! Rick should be doing what he was elected to do "run the county" We do not need to pay him to campain for his self. On the same subject you would think the PIO would put a weekly or at least monthly article out on what the county and it's departments are doing, but you never hear anything out of him, what is he doing with all his time?? Again County Council please do not support a larger Executive staff, it needs to be smaller, I also agree with a previous post in that it needs to be posted for all county residents to know just what this form of govt. is costing, let us know what the total cost of the Executive department is!
GA-
Why does Pollitt's latest scam have any "merit" -- you fail to give any cogent rationalization to support your opinion?
Do yo take you Kool Aid with ice?
county council, please learn to "just say NO" to the requests of rick. NO is the correct answer to the BLOATED executive staff budget.
do what is right and do it now.....
Once again any independent thinking has been squashed by the politics of fear. I wish joe citizen actually had a clue about budgets and services. I hope I live long enough to see the pendulum swing back the other way; it always does. If I were a parent with a child in school today, I would be furious with this council. Lucky for my kids, they got through in an up cycle. But that's the problem with this way of thinking - it's all about what's in it for ME, and not the greater community of Wicomico County. Get ready to suffer, folks, because your council has not guts.
10:41 Are you saying the executive staff BUDGET is BLOATED? Or, the EXECUTIVE is BLOATED? Or, both? LOL! GA, I like your "C"ool Aid. Shame more Council members and Pollitt don't read this blog so they know exactly what we want. NO NEW TAXES! Just in case some of them or some of the readers (there are a few on here) are slow and PROBABLY DON'T UNDERSTAND!! NO NEW TAXES! Cap or not, paying what we pay is TOO MUCH and more is STILL MORE! I'd rather pay for a special election and get someone else in the executive office than to have Pollitt continue with his royal screw up's!!
We didn't creat the post of County Exec. or elect Pollitt to have a roving ambassador. Let him spend more time in the office if he can't get his job done in the 25 or so hours that he is there each week.
12:12pm What the heck are you talking about. Your post makes no sense to me.
12:33 I didn't vote for the Executive form of government. I didn't want a liberal tax & spend freak like we have right now. It wasn't worth it to take the chance. And, like you, I don't want a "roving ambASSador" representing our county, being paid full-time wages for part-time work! This is the PERFECT STORM. The worst form of government for the worst person to lead: Tricky Ricky!
12:12, wrong thinking on your part. money in, money out. in flow, out go. whatever the case a budget must balance and just like a home budget, if the revenue is not available for whatever reason, the obvious answer is to cut back on services (newspaper, movies, energy costs, cable, junk food, unnessary trips, dinners, meetings etc.,) you get the picture.
i've lived long enough to realize there are times when MOST of us need to do this from time to time. it's not rocket science to figure this out.
remember: HOLD ALL ACCOUNTABLE....
it's our money to begin with.
G.A. or Joe. Great idea. Since most of the commenters on this blog seem to want no taxes, how about a "todays Survey" question that asks what SERVICES that people are willing to not have in order to have one of the lowest tax rates in the state. That should be interesting. I will bet you either get stupid answers, or no answers. People don't want to be part of the solution, they just want to complain.
12:54, your response was perfect. That only shows that 12:12 is correct. Most people have absolutely no idea of what it costs to provide services. Well, you are getting ready to find out when they start going away. Thank you for nothing county council.
3:54, it's not rocket science to know you can't provide comparable or equal services to a growing number of citizens without increasing the revenue. Until you are ready to tell all newcomers to stay the heck away, you have to grow your revenue to provide the additional services to accommodate the growing numbers. What about that is so confusing? If you have 2 children and you are blessed with a third, don't you have to increase your family budget? Or do you want the two kids you already have to suffer? How many families get a second job to provide for their own increases? How do you expect the county to provide for the growing population if you don't allow them to increase their operating funds? I would respectfully argue that perhaps is it you with the wrong thinking.
good answer 11:25, but unfortunately people just can't grasp the concept of the revenue cap. They don't understand that now, growth is the enemy. The revenue cap will only allow us to provide services for our existing population, and ONLY if the provisions of it are followed. But now, we have a grandstanding council, ingorant voters, so it can't sustain it's own. The solution: A moratorium on new construction. How will all you builders and realtors like that?
11:25pm Nice you give us only one side of this. You are assuming everyone is young and has a job and can go out and get a second one, too. Well let me tell you when your old and on social security benefits it doesn't work that way. SS has not increased in years. I love my home and want to stay in it for the rest of my life. If this increase goes thru I'll have to cut my budget, food, gas, meds, etc., just to pay my property taxes. I would respectfully argue that perhaps it is you with only thinking one way.
7:53, have you figured out how much you will have to cut your budget? Also, with your argument, who is going to pay the extra to make up for the extra mouths to feed if you can't? If your answer is nobody, then we can't accept any new growth. Plain and Simple.
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