Several years ago Executive Rick Pollitt admitted on PAC 14 that the County does in fact owe this money and stated he would find a way to pay back the City, he has failed.
So much so, the County owes the City almost $10,000,000.00!!!
Tack on the $3.5 million in income tax shortage in the County, Pollitt and Council continue to give extensive raises it simply cannot afford. The debt by adding the $1.5 million is really $5,000,000.00, excluding the $10,000,000.00 in past unpaid debt to the City.
We will be providing yet another big investigative story about the County very soon but I want to add that being this is an election year, Rick Pollitt refuses, (for now) to get involved in the Rain Tax. However, should Rick get reelected, don't you believe for a single second he won't be pushing to join other Counties throughout the state.
IF the County PAID BACK the City for these services mentioned above, DO YOU REALIZE City Residents would NOT have to pony up a penny for the legislation brought forth last night for the Storm Water Utility Fund, which is exactly $1.5 million dollars.
I say to Jim Ireton right here and now. Send the County to a collection agency and collect that funding and relieve the City taxpayers. If that doesn't work, STOP PAYING the City's share of expenses in the Government Office Building.
Just tell Rick, Like You, WE CAN'T AFFORD IT.
I'm curious why the shortfall in teacher pension funding that the governor has chosen to fund school construction stays off the radar screen when discussing revenue shortfall. Did that go away?
ReplyDeleteWell, if Salisbury is charging by the calls for service, Rick had better protest the bill! Sending fire trucks out as ambulance chasers has got to quadruple the price of eery call!
ReplyDeleteSpend, Spend, Spend! That's all they know!
How's about cutting back on the unnecessary expenses?
3:56, Rick has every right to complain about how the fire service is run, yet he does not and has not. Therefore he has accepted how Salisbury runs their service and owes the money.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting. Is there some kind of contract between the City and the County regarding this or is it one of those "it's always been this way" sort of thing?
ReplyDeleteIf the county doesn't have the money they simply need to find it. The cost of this service to the county must not fall on the backs of the city residents.
90% of the Salisbury Fure Departments district is within city limits. So tell me why I as a non Salisbury resident should pay for a service that I don't receive. Do the Salisbury residence pay for the paid paramedics throughout the rest of the county? No. Should they? No, just as I shouldn't have to pay Salisbury.
Delete3:55,is'nt it around a 24 million dollar shortfall?
ReplyDeleteYeah, Joe, but that's the rub! If you look at Pollit's credit card spending on the county budget history, he doesn't care about limits on spending. If he doesn't care there, he doesn't care anywhere, and that's the major problem! It's not his money he's spending, it's the VOTERS' money he's spending, at $1.5 MILLION more than we have!?????
ReplyDeleteLet's re-elect this POS and bend over even more?
I think not.
4:07
Kick the county out of the GOB building, go get some boxes Pollitt, you are going to need them after the election anyway!
ReplyDeleteWell the county fire departments respond to the city also.
ReplyDelete5:58 Correct Delmar cleaned up the mess after the state police barracks incident when the person drove away and wrecked and passed away.
ReplyDeletePollitt is a POS leader. He has nearly destroyed the county all by himself, with his terrible policies. Send his ars back to Allen or Eden, wherever he hails from in hopes that he will never drive north again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBob Culver for County Exec!
ReplyDeleteJoeAlbero said...
ReplyDelete3:56, Rick has every right to complain about how the fire service is run, yet he does not and has not. Therefore he has accepted how Salisbury runs their service and owes the money.
March 25, 2014 at 4:07 PM
You are correct Joe. He is a wuss! He doesn't want to make the paid firemen mad because the might not vote for him.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteWell, if Salisbury is charging by the calls for service, Rick had better protest the bill! Sending fire trucks out as ambulance chasers has got to quadruple the price of eery call!
Spend, Spend, Spend! That's all they know!
How's about cutting back on the unnecessary expenses?
March 25, 2014 at 3:56 PM
You better believe the Salisbury Fire Department charges the county every time the fire truck goes out in the county. That is more than half of their fire engine responses.
None said...
ReplyDelete90% of the Salisbury Fure Departments district is within city limits. So tell me why I as a non Salisbury resident should pay for a service that I don't receive. Do the Salisbury residence pay for the paid paramedics throughout the rest of the county? No. Should they? No, just as I shouldn't have to pay Salisbury.
March 25, 2014 at 5:18 PM
You have no idea what the Hell you are talking about. Over 50% of the fire district is in the County and that is a fact.
Please tell us where you got that 90% figure. I call you a liar on that one.
Really, I was a member of the Salisbury fire department and now I'm a county paid paramedic. That proves my knowledge on just where the county fire departments respond. What is your exact knowledge on the subject.
DeleteCITY LIMITS
North: dagsboro rd & 13, north of dagsboro rd delmar fire responds.
West: city limits end just shy if Naylor Mill rd & 50, Hebron fire responds north if Naylor Mill rd.
South: city limits end right before Cherokee lanes on 13, Fruitland fire responds to Cherokee lanes.
East: city limits end at Tilghman rd & 50, parsonsburg fire responds about 1 mile east of that at Hobbs & 50
Just because someone has a Salisbury address doesn't mean that the Salisbury fire department serves them. Fire response districts has nothing to do with your zipcode and everything to do with the fire department that is closest to you broken down into the tenth of mile.
Well that closest to rule is not true. I live 4 miles from Station 16 but THANK GOD, I am in Hebron fire district.
DeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteKick the county out of the GOB building, go get some boxes Pollitt, you are going to need them after the election anyway!
March 25, 2014 at 5:56 PM
Another person that doesn't know what the Hell they are talking about. That Government Office Building is OWNED by Wicomico County and the County citizen. Crawl back under your rock.
Let me clear the air on the GOB topic. The building is owned 50/50 by the City and the County.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteKick the county out of the GOB building, go get some boxes Pollitt, you are going to need them after the election anyway!
March 25, 2014 at 5:56 PM
OH BTW Intelligent One! The City of Salisbury gets off pretty cheap on this one. They only pay $1 per year rent to share that building with the County Government.
I say the city should move out and find it's own building.
Joe you are technically wrong on that one. The city is supposed to pay $1 per year to share that building.
ReplyDelete7:34, Wrong again. The City paid $1.00 to buy into 1/2 of the GOB. Not per year. It was a one time agreement in which the City now pays 50% of the upkeep of the building and other expenses are shared equally.
ReplyDelete7:35, Look, I was heavily involved years ago when Barrie Tilghman was Mayor and the City, (John Pick) delivered the $1.00 check and a contract to buy into 50% of the property.
ReplyDeleteIf you'll recall, Gary Comegys didn't want to do it because he said the building was too old.
There was a deadline for the City to buy in and they did.
OK, I just made a call to someone in the know and they have absolutely CONFIRMED what I have been saying. The City IS now on the DEED for the GOB.
ReplyDelete7:30pm 50%/90% whatever. Salisbury Fire Dept. needs to stay in their District which is the City of Salisbury. The county VOLUNTEER Fire Depts can handle the county. Remember years ago how the City took over the stretch out to White Lowe Road & had a big fight on their hands with Hebron? I say, Salisbury stay in your City limits but guess what? They don't want to since they can make more money with a bigger district. The Fire Chiefs need to straighten this out and fast. One angry VOLUNTEER.
ReplyDeleteThe only way they can take additional territory from another department is if they are either closer or the can legitimately prove they can respond to said address faster on a consistent basis than the current fire department serving that area.
DeleteAs I said, I am a county paid paramedic and a volunteer firefighter for one if the county fire departments so I feel your pain. But if they can beat you to your own scene then you don't have much of a leg to stand on.
No wonder Salisbury has problems, we are the bank for a bunch of country dead beats. Come on folks cough up our 10 million.
ReplyDeleteI thought the volunteer organizations of Salisbury FD received about $100,000 per year for fire and EMS. Equal to the rest of the county? Is this the debt you are referring to? Or do they give additional monies, well I should say supposed to give additional monies? Hope this County wakes up and votes Pollitt into unemployment!
ReplyDeleteJoeAlbero said...
ReplyDeleteOK, I just made a call to someone in the know and they have absolutely CONFIRMED what I have been saying. The City IS now on the DEED for the GOB.
March 25, 2014 at 8:00 PM
That is stupid on the part of the County Council. WTH!
Thanks for confirming. I stand corrected.
7:32 Eating some crow? as YOU crawl back under your rock?
ReplyDeleteThanks for clearing that up Joe.
who owns the GOB building we the people thats who
ReplyDeleteActually the City can take territory by annexing the area into the city limits. Give it time, Wor-Wic will be covered by Station 1 fire and EMS. City water and sewer already go there. Rumor has it they are planning on annexing all of the area along rt 50 east to Walston Switch, including the College.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteI thought the volunteer organizations of Salisbury FD received about $100,000 per year for fire and EMS. Equal to the rest of the county? Is this the debt you are referring to? Or do they give additional monies, well I should say supposed to give additional monies? Hope this County wakes up and votes Pollitt into unemployment!
March 25, 2014 at 8:22 PM
They do receive grant money from the county and they also charge per call for each fire and ambulance call that responds in the County 50% of the EMS calls are in the County and that is a fact.
Blogger None said...
ReplyDeleteReally, I was a member of the Salisbury fire department and now I'm a county paid paramedic. That proves my knowledge on just where the county fire departments respond. What is your exact knowledge on the subject.
CITY LIMITS
North: dagsboro rd & 13, north of dagsboro rd delmar fire responds.
West: city limits end just shy if Naylor Mill rd & 50, Hebron fire responds north if Naylor Mill rd.
South: city limits end right before Cherokee lanes on 13, Fruitland fire responds to Cherokee lanes.
East: city limits end at Tilghman rd & 50, parsonsburg fire responds about 1 mile east of that at Hobbs & 50
Just because someone has a Salisbury address doesn't mean that the Salisbury fire department serves them. Fire response districts has nothing to do with your zipcode and everything to do with the fire department that is closest to you broken down into the tenth of mile.
March 25, 2014 at 8:05 PM
What you just spewed proves nothing. Cite your sources or you will prove you are a typical Farmin. I am a government employee and I know exactly what I am talking about. Just because you are a paid paramedic in the county make you an expert. As a matter of fact your credibility just went down a notch.
Who said that fire department responses had anything to do with being in the county or Smallsbury.
What me being a paid county paramedic proves is that I actually know where the distric lines are. I actually have to listen to the 911 dispatch center and actually hear who is being dispatched where.
DeleteOther than some backseat driving paper pusher what experience do you have on the subject.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete7:30pm 50%/90% whatever. Salisbury Fire Dept. needs to stay in their District which is the City of Salisbury. The county VOLUNTEER Fire Depts can handle the county. Remember years ago how the City took over the stretch out to White Lowe Road & had a big fight on their hands with Hebron? I say, Salisbury stay in your City limits but guess what? They don't want to since they can make more money with a bigger district. The Fire Chiefs need to straighten this out and fast. One angry VOLUNTEER.
March 25, 2014 at 8:05 PM
The Fire Chiefs need not do anything to straighten this out. I am a tax payer and a voter and I would prefer that my elected officials handled this issue. These "Fire Chiefs" you speak of are more than likely not qualified to be a fire chief even in a volunteer company. Ugh! That is a scary thought.
Oh yes because elected officials are experts on fire responses
DeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDelete7:32 Eating some crow? as YOU crawl back under your rock?
Thanks for clearing that up Joe.
March 25, 2014 at 8:34 PM
Not hardly Bimbo. Prior to the stupid vote of the County Council giving away half of their building it belonged to the County 100%. Now craw back under your rock.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteActually the City can take territory by annexing the area into the city limits. Give it time, Wor-Wic will be covered by Station 1 fire and EMS. City water and sewer already go there. Rumor has it they are planning on annexing all of the area along rt 50 east to Walston Switch, including the College.
March 25, 2014 at 10:13 PM
There was a pre-annexation agreement and they may have annexed already.
Past Hobbs road right now it's about 50/50 between Parsonsburg and SFD sta1.
DeleteParsonsburg still responds for all fire/EMS calls at Worwic and Walston Switch & 50
Whether it's fire or something else, there was a study done that shows the county OWES Salisbury AND Delmar and maybe some other towns some money BACK on their tax rates.
ReplyDeletePollitt said he'd work to make that happen, then hid behind the skirts of the BOE to avoid it. Now there's a joint snow plowing of shared roads and Tricky Ricky thinks he's done something.
Hell, Debbie Campbell suggested that years and years ago!
What a joke!!!! The eastern shore is imploding upon itself the leadership of the area can't even handle the fd situation with any skill.....nothing on the shore is done right and the money is running out....and the shore is nearly in ruin....don't worry the born here's , the smartest people in the world according to them can fix it all... Not gonna happen.....
ReplyDeleteJoe, are you still running for county executive? We NEED YOU man!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Make sure they use paper ballots so Chuck Cook can't get on the computer and throw the election again.
Blogger None said...
ReplyDelete90% of the Salisbury Fure Departments district is within city limits.
Blogger None said...
Really, I was a member of the Salisbury fire department and now I'm a county paid paramedic. That proves my knowledge on just where the county fire departments respond. What is your exact knowledge on the subject.
Mr None, you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. And the fact that you try to justify that you "know" by say that you were a member of SFD means that you really aren't all that familiar with SFD's districts and Salisbury's Corporate limits. 90% of SFD's response area is within the City? Try again pal! The FACT is that SFD (Stations 1, 2 and 16) is the primary responder to over 32,000 acres with only approximately 9,000 acres of that area being within the Salisbury corporate limits. Do I need to do the math for you as well? That is approximately 28% within the City limits. Now, granted, there are more calls for service within the City areas due to density, but certainly not 90%. I believe the numbers I once heard were something like a 30/70 or 40/60 split between County/City for actual responses.
Blogger None said...
ReplyDeleteThe only way they can take additional territory from another department is if they are either closer or the can legitimately prove they can respond to said address faster on a consistent basis than the current fire department serving that area.
That is not the case at all. There are plenty of instances throughout the City and County where another agency would and could more adequately serve a certain area than the existing responder. It is not as simple as saying (or even proving) that Station A can respond to an address better than Station B can so we're going to change the districts. NOT ONE SINGLE fire department in the County is willing to simply give up territory. Those men take great pride in what they do and taking away territory is like a slap in the face to most. It's a turf battle. These days, pretty much the only way that SFD can increase their district area is if the City annexes an area that previously was not within their district. The City Charter states that the City must provide fire response to all areas within the City Limits.
Blogger None said...
ReplyDeleteReally, I was a member of the Salisbury fire department and now I'm a county paid paramedic. That proves my knowledge on just where the county fire departments respond. What is your exact knowledge on the subject.
CITY LIMITS
North: dagsboro rd & 13, north of dagsboro rd delmar fire responds.
West: city limits end just shy if Naylor Mill rd & 50, Hebron fire responds north if Naylor Mill rd.
South: city limits end right before Cherokee lanes on 13, Fruitland fire responds to Cherokee lanes.
East: city limits end at Tilghman rd & 50, parsonsburg fire responds about 1 mile east of that at Hobbs & 50
If you think the Salisbury City Limits are that simple then you are sadly mistaken! You can take a drive down Beaglin Park Dr or Pemberton Dr and enter and exit the City at a half dozen times each. You can browse for a new car at any Pohanka dealership and not be in the City. You can stand in the County on Wor-Wic's campus and throw a stone across Walston Switch Rd into the City. The problem is that the City is so fragmented from poor growth practices and special interest annexations that most people have no clue where the City starts and stops. It's also the reason why crime appears higher in Salisbury in some cases - Several of the high crime areas are not within the City thus they can't be tagged as a "Salisbury" crime. While these crimes do not occur in the City, it does not mean that they should be associated with the City or the Salisbury Area. Imagine what it takes to police the City? Often times SPD doesn't even know what is inside or outside the City. In fact, in is impractical, if not nearly impossible for SPD to patrol the City without actually leaving the City. If people actually knew what the Salisbury City limits actually looked like, I'm sure a lot more citizens would be pushing for more joint efforts between the SPD and WCSO.
I do feel as though the County should compensate the City for providing emergency services and the City has provided the County with hard numbers to justify the compensation, but the County has not cooperated. There are several issues to look at here to resolve the problem.
ReplyDelete1-If the County is to pay the City for fire services then the County should have a say in how services are rendered. SFD's districts and mutual aid do not consider response time and efficiency as much as they should. There are numerous areas where another agency could respond faster to a specific area that the agency currently assigned. If I were Rick, I would have every area within the County that SFD serves evaluated for efficiency to ensure that I am getting the most out of tax payer dollars. If a non-SFD agency can respond more adequately, then the district should be adjusted.
2-SFD has a knack for over responding. This has been a known fact for years now. They'll send a half dozen trucks to a fender bender. This needs to be cleaned up - only send what is needed. SFD likes to get their toys out at any opportunity and who pays the bill? TAXPAYERS!
3-The County and City need to agree on a method to calculate reimbursement. Clearly, given SFD's over response, the County should not compensate based on units on the scene. Efficiency is key, why should the County pay for unnecessary vehicles on the scene? The County would be well advised to pay per call response by SFD as a single entity - not by station. If station 16 responds to a call and station 1 shows up to help (needed or not), the County shouldn't pay out twice. This would promote double dipping by the SFD.
4-The City also needs to realize that there are non-SFD agencies that respond to the City for mutual aid. Those calls should be considered as a means to offset the County's cost obligations on mutual aid responses. Mutual aid shouldn't even be considered for reimbursement - it is MUTUAL AID, I help you, you help me. If station 16 helps out station 1, does Station 16 send a bill to station 1? No. Same should go for when 16 aids Delmar or Fruitland.
The main problem is that SFD and the City want to say "you owe us this, now pay up," but there should be a logical approach to the situation so that the County taxpayers (don't forget that City residents pay County taxes too!) aren't paying for the wasteful spending of SFD. Also, if the County is contributing funds to SFD I believe that they should have a say in how funds are spent within the SFD.
Next problem is that the County has evenly distributed money across the County fire agencies for years. Nobody gets more, nobody gets less. I believe each station gets $500,000 directly from the County each year. What happens when the County starts paying SFD more? You think that the other agencies aren't going to want more? Now where is the money going to come from? I don't think it is fair that all of the County taxpayers should be covering this burden between the City and County. And I certainly don't think that City residents should have to pay additional taxes on top of the City AND COUNTY taxes that they already pay. I think the most appropriate solution would be a special tax district including those properties within SFD's district, but outside of Salisbury's City limits. This way you can continue to provide the same funding to all the other County agencies and dedicate the taxes collected from the special tax district to SFD. After all, they are getting a "free" City service since they aren't paying City taxes.
Very well formulated response. I agree
DeleteBlogger None said...
ReplyDelete"What me being a paid county paramedic proves is that I actually know where the distric lines are. I actually have to listen to the 911 dispatch center and actually hear who is being dispatched where.
Other than some backseat driving paper pusher what experience do you have on the subject."
You certainly don't know where the lines are if you think that 90% of SFD's territory is within the City. I'm a tad bit more than a paper pusher... I know EXACTLY what is in and what is out of SFD's Territory and Salisbury's City limits.