SALISBURY — A new strategy is needed to get Wicomico County out of some rough economic waters, according to a financial sustainability study discussed this week.
Conducted by the Sage Policy Group, Inc., the report argues against either tax increases or spending cuts and instead urges the county to find ways to become more attractive to business and to improve quality of life for residents.
“They analyzed our revenue trends. They then studied our tax capacity relative to our tax effort,” Wayne Strausburg, director of administration, told the Wicomico County Council Tuesday.
Wicomico “finds itself in an extraordinarily difficult position,” began the report’s summary section. Despite having the highest income tax allowable under state law and being fourth out of 24 in property tax collection, once county and municipal taxes are considered, the county still struggles with funding. Because of this, there has been an increased reliance on state and federal support to fund things like county education instead of using local money.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
12 comments:
WHAT HAVE I BEEN SAYING FOLKS???
This is/was a no brainer.
How's that kiosk in the lobby working for you Mr. Ireton/Pollitt?
You must have someone with BUSINESS experience to aggressively go to other areas of the tri state territory with a package that will make them want to make a move.
Good Luck Wicomico County, your gonna need it. The Eastern Shore is a very difficult sale. Jobs are being lost daily and small businesses are closing very quickly as well. You must bring in manufacturing or distribution companies moving here, period. Retail and fast food won't survive, nor will the citizens if the pay isn't good enough to support a family and mortgage. You want people to STAY and that's the only way you can make it happen.
The people YOU have elected have NO CLUE how to do this. They may be able to sell you on a vote but good business people are not stupid. Someone who has been through moving a large business with a decent staff is what it will take to sell such a move.
Oh well, I've shared this with you in the past.
Congratulations District 2--you are responsible for the current economic situation in your City. You had the unbelievably good fortune of having a business savvy enthusiastic candidate for mayor and a brilliant fiscal hawk as city council person--AND YOU CHOSE YOUR OWN RUIN. You voted in 2 complete novices that are only concerned with lining the pockets of their masters and photo ops. District 2 you had the chance to turn the city around and you chose the absolute worse for mayor and city council.
"The increase in subsidized housing was perceived to be the cause of the uptick in crime". DUH!!
We all KNOW you WON that election, Joe. If you had got in there, all these problems would be history.
New Business Needed In Wicomico To Calm Economic Woes....as well as the state and nation....things need to change. Obamacare will destroy our nation when ONLY part time jobs are available.
The best chance we have is for the kingpin connected like Gillis, pollitt, and ireton to go public, explain how they do business behind the curtain, and jobs can come to salisbury over night. not sayin what kinda jobs, but jobs, ok!
No offence to joe Albero but it wouldn't make a difference had he won or not. The issues with the eastern shore began 10-15 years ago when anchor companies began leaving the area. One person isn't to blame or able to fix what is wrong with Delmarva. A solid business with good paying jobs will be hard to attract to the shore for a lot of reasons. The damage is done here and the area lacks the tools needed to repair it. In the months before we left Delmarva we met countless people who like our family realized if was time to go....
Business people aren't stupid. The look at an area, the schools the roads, etc. before they will consider making the investment. The people of this county that voted for the cap need only look on the mirror for who is to blame. People from other areas won't bat an eye at our taxes, they are peanuts compared to where they live. The county can't give them what they need because the county can barely provide services to those that live here now. The schools are in horrible shape and the roads are tens of millions in backlog. Thank you voice. How is that real estate working for you now. You can only blame so much on fat.
You also need to take into consideration population levels of areas that are booming. The larger the population the better the odds of good schools , jobs, ect. The shore can't offer that. Sadly it could be something Delmarva can't overcome...
Most everyone here wants to blame tourists and come heres. Young people have been leaving this area for years looking for a better "quality of life" and no one ever did anything. The only people I see moving here are retirees and people not looking for work. The fact that young people have been doing this for years and local leaders did nothing, is pathetic. Most people around here hate retail stores that are popping up but shop at most and enjoy the convenience. If I hear one more person blame someone from Jersey, PA or anywhere but from here Im going to go crazy. Blame, blame blame is the game I see most local people play.
Exactly right Joe but you see people blaming the tax cap,roads and schools which have nothing to do with bringing more and better businesses here,its the the anti-business attitude the lawmakers have that discourages business.
Joe has 'hit the nail on the head'. The only way for Wicomico to claw its way out of this rut - is to entice growth through business relocation. Instead, we have businesses fleeing Wicomico/Salisbury for greener pastures. 88 Major business closures - documented by our last count - and SBYnews has the best people in the business reporting this information.
It is 'black eye' that Wicomico/Salisbury/State Of Md will have to bare as a result of neglecting our businesses environment.
And just as Ducks, Geese, and other waterfowl migrate from an area for lack of watershed - so have our businesses.
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