Tax
Credits Won't Lure Business If
City Remains Unfriendly to Business
City Remains Unfriendly to Business
SALISBURY, MD – Salisbury mayoral candidate Joe Albero says that enterprise zones are only ONE part of the answer in revitalizing Salisbury's economy. “I want to thank Gov. Martin O'Malley for his recent approval of an extended enterprise zone for Salisbury and Wicomico County. I just wish my opponent understood that tax credits are only a small part of the solution. As long as the city is governed by an administration that views business as merely something to be taxed, fined, and charged fees, entrepreneurs will be unwilling to invest in our city”
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| Business Expansion Held Up By Ireton Administration |
Highlighting
the Ireton administration's attitudes towards business, Albero
announced his candidacy on January 8th at a local
contracting business where the city has held up an expansion for over
a year. “With all else being equal, enterprise zone tax credits
can be a deciding factor in a city's favor. Unfortunately, when you
are already faced with Maryland's generally unfriendly business
environment along with the Ireton administration's bureaucratic brick
wall, an enterprise zone (by itself) will not lure new businesses to
Salisbury nor will it encourage our existing businesses.
“The
city should lend a helping hand to business, not hope that tax
credits will attract investment by itself. Jim doesn't even
understand what enterprise zones are for. Enterprise zones were
designed to provide businesses with an incentive to invest in
blighted areas. He thinks they are a means for controlling 'sprawl'.
The 'Crossroads of Delmarva' truly is at a crossroads.”
In
response to Gov. O'Malley's approval of the expanded enterprise zone,
Ireton stated, “As Salisbury grows, this designation
will become even more critical to reducing sprawl and revitalizing
our downtown and our city’s most historic areas.”
Albero
believes that the city and its residents are best served by providing
an environment that attracts employers and expands the tax base
rather than raising tax rates. Ireton proposed a rate hike in his
last budget. The tax hike was rejected by the city council.
15 comments:
Ireton is clueless. I'm starting to better understand why we need you. He has had four years to bring in good paying jobs and he has failed. You have my vote Mr. Albero.
How can an enterprise zone be a part of the answer when you have a mayor who allows a hotel to get 10 years of tax breaks. I will never vote for Ireton again.
anonymous 7:42, you are exactly right. I would have shot that down so fast it isn't funny. They got that break AFTER the Hotel was already built too. It had nothing to do with a deal breaker. I was furious when that happened but leave it to non business people running this City and that's what you get.
Anyone that uses the term "Enterprise zone" is a fool.
EVERYWHERE in MD. should be an Enterprise zone.
It should be the RULE not the exception.
I think first order of biz you should do is clean house... get most of them over paid bums out of the city coffers...
Joe, I agree with most of what you say and am 80% on voting for you as is the rest of my family. We have discussed this at length. Without going in to specifics I hope you belive me when I state that your present council blocked my ability to open up shop in the city.
I agree with 7:42 & Joe. Employers are disappearing at a rapid pace from Salisbury, which has caused the Middle Class to become an endangered "species" as they helplessly sink downwards into the Lower Class "pit."
I think a great idea would be for Ireton to step up to the plate or podium and answer a TON of voters' questions concerning Salisbury's dire conditions, rather than voters having to listen to and read his unfounded rhetorical speeches.
Spot ON Joe!
With economic conditions here on the eastern shore it looks like things can even get worse.
I also know of several commercial kitchens here in the city that have operated without a grease trap, however the city did make Rob Mulford at Mojo's install one. The game has to be played by the rules by all business, not just one.
If Maryland passes the $10 minimum wage they are suggesting, this area will become a ghost town. All combined, this spells trouble for the eastern shore.
Andy & Others,
Ireton recently proposed increasing the Enterprise Zone for Salisbury.
Here's the major problem with that. Ireton went on to say, “As Salisbury grows, this designation will become even more critical to reducing sprawl and revitalizing our downtown and our city’s most historic areas.”
Now I ask each and every one of you, HOW are you going to revitalize Downtown IF you keep increasing the size of the Enterprise Zones? The IDEA is to maintain what you have and encourage those current zones to fill up. This will help the Downtown Enterprise Zone and encourage people/businesses to revitalize DOWNTOWN and NOT spread it out to every possible area of Salisbury.
It's tough enough to get a manufacturing company to move to Maryland, let alone Salisbury Maryland. Deal with what you already have designated and once it comes close to filling up, expand at that point and time.
The way Ireton recently attempted to expand the enterprise zone, you'd think ALL of Salisbury was pretty much blight. Another politician with his hand out is all I see.
Salisbury is headed to be all blight, at the rate we are going.
To me,expanding enterprise zones just forces all business into the city to discourage developing property outside the city alas the realtors hike up prices so no one can afford to rent or build.
To increase the enterprise zone is moot when we have buildings downtown sitting empty for decades.
Like Joe said, utilize what is already existing and build on that first. When all of downtown is occupied, then seek to expand outside of the city center.
Urban spraw has created infrastructure that we can't afford to keep maintained now.
All of this makes perfect sense.
Well I wish you the utmost success Mr. Alberto with your admirable quest. Ireton has accomplished nothing for Salisbury except for its demise.
Sadly, I have seen many good friends and other good people leave our eastern shore due to the disappearing jobs and many good people have been replaced with many criminal-minded people that are up to no good in our area.
Urban spraw in Salisbury has created a donut effect of the city, nothing in the middle and everything on the outskirts. That's convienent for people that live in the county, but they don't pay city taxes.
8:06, come forward for all of us to know. The only decisions I can think of that the council stopped was that farce called the Bricks and the old Firehouse 16. 8:06 sounds like Palmer Gillis and now that I know the truth of what happened with the old fire station, tough to him.
Which reminds me, Joe, be business friendly, but don't go kissing their behinds either. We had two decades of incentive this, incentive that, and when the gravy expired, away they went.
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