My phone has been ringing off the hook for days referencing this matter and if by chance you don't believe me, go to the Post below and click on the video interview with Jim Ireton and Don Rush. Go to around 48 minutes and start listening to Jim in his own words.
As a Mayoral Candidate I want to make this very clear to each and every one of you. IF this ordinance ever comes across my desk I will immediately VETO it as it is written.
What does it say to our business community when a Mayor brings forth a law that says if you have TWO complaints/violations/nuisances in a TWO YEAR period the Mayor and Police Chief have the right to close your doors.
Mind you, would YOU ever consider investing hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars into a new business in Salisbury KNOWING that IF the Mayor and Police Chief got a bug up their tail for a particular business or they wanted certain parking lots, (for examples) that they could very easily close you down?
Outback was just cited for serving an under age person. IF this law was in place, they would be sweating bullets for the next 23 months worrying that IF they had another violation the Mayor and Police Chief could actually shut them down. WaWa has their own problems with patrons coming in after the Bars close with fights in their parking lot. Should they be shut down?
Mayor Jim Ireton is spreading the word LOUDLY, Salisbury wants to CONTROL you. In his interview he complains about businesses making too much money and they should pay the price.
Look, I think the founding fathers of Salisbury knew what they were getting into when they started allowing businesses to open here. Throughout the years Salisbury set a tax rate to manage the cost of doing business and yes, sometimes it means you have to handle particular problems more so than others.
Will Mayor Ireton then CREDIT those businesses that pay high taxes and NEVER use the City's services? NO, of course not. Will he shut down Salisbury University because of under age drinking and parties at the Zoo complex? NO.
This is what you get when you hire a part time government employee who has never been in the business world. You get an individual who wants you to know, I'm the guy who says what you can and can't do and if your making too much money, you need to spread the wealth.
So how do the residents who are voting fit into this. Well, if Ireton were to close Brew River, (for example) more than 100 people will be out of jobs. More than 100 people more than likely won't be able to FIND new jobs because NO company would be dumb enough to make an investment to open another restaurant knowing they could easily be closed. Sysco would be out hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. The County would lose liquor sales. Now multiple those numbers to each business, (including Outback) and you'd see how much money we'd lose simply because the Mayor wants control because your making too much money. A hundred people would be booted out of their homes because they can't make the payments.
Have you ever read an article or watched a broadcast showing Salisbury being so out of control that we're forced to create such an outrageous Ordinance? NO! There's water front parking lots next to Brew River as well as Market Street Inn. Both have had recent complaints and all of a sudden Jim Ireton comes out with this Ordinance that was borrowed from the City of Baltimore almost verbatim. Rather than take full responsibility for pushing this ordinance, Jim Ireton is now throwing his popular Police Chief Barbara Duncan under the bus. In my opinion, his intentions with the two mentioned water front parking lots are highly suspicious.
View the video in the article below and scroll up to 48 minutes and see for yourself. Jim Ireton is out of control.
"This is not Joe Albero's election to lose, it's the citizens' election to lose".
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