Popular Posts

Sunday, April 13, 2014

A Letter To The Editor: Wicomico County Decends Into Pit of Dispair

It's easy to feel discouraged about what is happening to our county. One just has to look at how our government is operating and it simply makes you sick. Good morals and ethics seem to be a thing of the past. We now seem to be operating under the guise of "Now that I'm elected, appointed I can do what I want," mentality. Let's just look at what has recently been transpiring and you tell me if it's moral and ethical.
  • Board of Education State Audit - Our county gets a large portion of it's funding from the State. (still your tax dollars) The State wants to know how we are spending the money and if we are following the rules. WCBOE tells them we are following our own rules and the State simply doesn't understand. As for saving 3.2 million in just the bus contracts alone well we choose to do this because  our relationship with the bus contractors is special. (really doesn't matter that they are spending your tax dollars). And if anyone is concerned about overpaying a number of employees well it's not really a bad thing. This is just done to encourage quality employees to stay at the BOE. (Your taxes again and remember, you have to give the BOE your tax dollars but they can do whatever they want with that money.) $162,000.00 to bribe parents to come to school functions is just normal. It takes pizzas and subs to get these parents to a school function. If a few dollars were spent for other luncheons, board meetings and staff meetings what difference does it make? After all, " It's For the Kids,". There is just so much wrong in this area that I want to know why the State's Attorney hasn't looked into this matter. The county council is now starting on the county's new budget and you better believe the BOE will be there telling us how under funded and under paid everyone is. The council shouldn't spend one dime on the BOE until a forensic audit is completed so they know exactly where they stand. Remember, this wasn't a complete State audit. They relied on reports givens to them by other auditors and information given to them by the BOE. Given the BOE's way of justifying spending I would have a lot of questions to ask. Another question I have is why is Mr. Pollitt staying out of this? Isn't he concerned about how our tax dollars are being spent or does he simply agree with it? Why hasn't he called for a forensic audit as was done with the Landfill Fiasco?
  • Sage Reports! Anyone getting tired of them? If you notice these reports do not include anything in them that the People of Wicomico County haven't said at other meetings. We are spending money for these opinions that the County Executive should be coming up with. That's why he was hired. That's why he has an expensive staff. With the money spent on Sage Reports and Florida Corporations Analysis of the Civic Center and others we could have repaired all the pot holes in the county. Mr. Pollitt, here's just a simple suggestion. Contact all Wicomico Country businesses and simply just ask them, are you in financial trouble, are you planning on closing or relocating, what can the county do to help you, what will it take for you to increase your business and hire more employees? Perhaps something as simple as that could help. Isn't it at least worth a little effort instead of waiting for The SAGE Report?
  • Council Re-votes - How many times should we hold re-votes on issues? Let's see, Bennett re-vote (because of some startling new facts that just came about), salary re-vote (even though nothing has changed economically since the last vote but now I'm here) and now I hear that Becker-Morgan wants a re-vote on the outcome of the Election Board rental deal. I'm not sure what's in this deal for them. ( Let me think a minute here. I keep hearing that name "Becker-Morgan". Isn't that the firm that Mr. Conway worked for at one time? And isn't it one of those architecture firms that for some reason doesn't have to submit competitive bids to the BOE for services? What's the deal with that? I understand for large projects A&E firms work on a percentage  of the total value of a job and can run into the millions of dollars. Are there any other types of firms that enjoy this non competitive process for getting county work? Now I know someone out there has an answer to this so please respond.
  •  Long Term County Leases - Just recently there was the Board of Election fiasco that is just as disgusting in so many ways. I have been following this one for awhile. From attending other meetings it appears that the County Executive's Office has been trying to move this issue through the contractual stage in a hurry because Salisbury University is in a hurry to acquire the property the Board of Elections is renting. The Executive's Office, I  believe, was expecting to have an approval at the April 1st evening council meeting. Councilman Joe Holloway then stated he had talked with the current owners of the property that the Board of Elections is currently renting from that morning.  The property owner stated that  SU had not contacted him about purchasing his property and that he was not trying to push the Election Board off of his property. So what's the deal here folks? Why was the County Executive's Office pushing so hard for this deal? Someone out there knows this answer. Please bring it out in the open. When it was suggested that a new facility for the Election Board be built so that at the end of ten years the County would at least have something to show for almost a million dollars that would have been paid in renting, the executive's assistant stated that the county had a 230 million dollar capital budget campaign and there simply wasn't enough funds to go around. That's where the question comes in about how can the county somehow afford to pay this rent but not put the same money to a bond for a new or renovated building. Then it was pointed out by an audience member that the county was already renting space at the Adkins's Building for the WIC program. Why wasn't this brought out during previous discussions when comparisons were being done about dollar per square foot costs? No one on the council, the county attorney, county administrator or the executive's office seemed to recollect anything about this. Someone mentioned that the rent might be being paid by some kind of "pass through funding". At one point during the discussion Mr. Hall was trying to convince the people that one of the reasons this area was safe was because there was an eight foot fence with razor wire at the top out behind the building. I guess he didn't hear the laughter from the audience when someone asked what he thought the fence and wire were there for. I better watch it, he'll be calling me a "Naysayer" again. Another important item was that the Council President didn't recuse himself from the vote since his landlord is the person presenting the lease to the council. Then he went on to lecture everyone about the "What Ifs"  not letting this deal move forward.  Well, the deal was voted down, for now. We're still waiting for round two to see which Come Back Kid brings it up again.

Conclusion:
Sometimes I think I'm reading too much into all this but to me it's as plain as the nose on your face. We have some rotten people in our county doing what I call immoral and unethical practices with the taxpayers money. Why the State's Attorney hasn't stepped in or any Ethic Boards held investigations into all this I for one truly don't know. Why should the taxpayers be treated this way?

 John Palmer, Delmar, Md.

31 comments:

  1. The path of least resistance is the new political correctness John.I'm not in politics but I'll admit I myself avoid issues that overwhelm me.How it got to this point is anyones guess,but the means to get us out of it are not currently available.Unless of course issues are dealt with one at a time in order of importance.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks John for this overview. I totally agree and my neighbors, friends and family are also puzzled as to why something isn't being done to stop this corruption.

    No regard for the taxpayer. Follow the money.

    ReplyDelete
  3. WOW were do I go for free food.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wanna fix the issues in this county? I would suggest voting more people like Joe Holloway. He is one of the few politicians on a local level I would even vote for. he has a good head on his shoulders not to mention he seems to be one of the few who even realizes we are in financial dire straits here on the shore.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It is apparent that there is, indeed, corruption here in Wicomico. In light of this article I believe it would be prudent to obtain the campaign contributions for all of Pollitt's contributors, and I think you'll find there is a connection. And yet this will open-up another 'can of worms' that will lead to the inevitable - more corruption. I agree, the State's Attorney and Ethics Board should be brought-in ASAP.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Matt Holloway stated at the NAACP meeeting that under his leadership he has brought the council and executive's office to a better working relationship. That is the problem with our county. Some members of the council do not want to question what the Executive's office does.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I agree with a lot of the empirical evidence contained in this posting. Some of these things definitely fails the 'sniff test'.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The State's Attorney just got a new building he will not ruffel any feathers.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Might want to show the info to a Federal official if 10:55 is correct.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have to agree with many of above postings, there are a lot of irregularities surrounding these departments, and department heads. It's a crying shame that the taxpayers are always the ones getting dumped on.

    ReplyDelete
  11. John -- you forgot to mention that Bob Culver's proposal to put a moratorium on the impact fee on new homes has gotten nowhere.

    ReplyDelete
  12. They call this in Biblical terms; Pillage. Wicomico is being Pillaged.

    ReplyDelete
  13. What has happened is that Wicomico is not growing. Our County's GDP has been so abysmal for so long that now our Youth are suffering. The Federal, State, and even the Local levels have over-regulated to such an extreme that it has devastated our economy. Now look what is happening elsewhere, they are starting to reduce fees, (case-in-point Fruitland) - but it is to late. It will take decades to undue this damage. I heard this morning that the last US Bicycle manufacture has announced it is even moving. This has been going on so long and now' 'The Chickens Have Come Home To Roost'.

    ReplyDelete
  14. John Palmer - I would say the majority of us feel like you do, but have given up in engaging in the political fray because it is so out of control. There appears to be an air of entitlement to those elected and in hired executive positions. Just look at how red in the face Strasberg gets when challenged or disagreed with...how dare anyone question his "expertise". REALLY???!!! Things are rotten at the top, Pollitt needs to go and hopefully will, then Strasberg and some of the others will hopefully be replaced with people who realize who they work for. Rick and company seem to have FORGOTTEN who pays their salaries - WE NEED TO SHOW THEM BY VOTING THEM OUT OF OFFICE!!!

    ReplyDelete
  15. It is a sad state of affairs. Salisbury and Wicomico are currently in.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Pollitt has Never had a real job where he has to answer to a CEO or stockholders. So what do we get when we continue to elect these career politicians, slackers, unqualified and those who want the benefits of tax payer money.

    ReplyDelete
  17. what has become of the republican party. how about some moderates who will get votes instead of the crazy ones who run now and scare people. people are tired of the extremes in politics and want some clear-headed thinking.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Joe,

    You need to add Mr Palmer to your staff. He's got a great head for analyzing what's wrong in Wicomico County. I have no doubt this post is going to be the best one of the month.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wicomico County is so full of incompetence it is astounding!
    From Rick Pollitt, to Dave Ryan to numerous other high paid executives, they are a waste.

    ReplyDelete
  20. 1:55, I have no doubt he is already here, and moderating comments to boot.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I think this is a good article to. The facts are cogent as to what is going on in the administration.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I have said it before and I will say it again, I have no idea who all the people are in SBYNEWS but in my opinion they are trained professionals. One usually does not encounter this high caliber of people running an ordinary news paper. The only other network that compares to SBYNEWS is FOX and they are rated NO.1

    ReplyDelete
  23. To 2:59 - that is why I keep coming here. I have yet to read any of these local events in the other news, Daily Times. You won't find any local coverage in The Daily Times anymore. They either aren't interested or they don't have anyone, maybe both.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Mr. Palmer thank you for your superior posting. It is most unfortunate that Wicomico County Government is still being operated by the good old boy system that has existed for years. Tricky Ricky and has band of thieves are raping Wicomico County taxpayers on a daily basis. I would just like to have what is wasted on a daily basis with any justification whatsoever. When you do not have to answer to anyone, you can do as you please, when you please. The Board of Education should be replaced "yesterday." The current states attorney is now in Tricky Ricky's hip pocket because of the new states attorney facility on East Main Street. Investigate that one and find out just who, what, when and where the under the table payoffs were made. Yes, corruption is alive and well in Wicomico County, and the taxpayers are paying the bills.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I also think it is a very good article. Hits home on a lot of fronts, and I want to thank Sbynews for publishing it. From the BOE, to the paid consultants (SAGE), to the WIC Lease, and Board of Election Lease right on down to the Landfill fiasco, the waters look murky from my perspective. As one can tell the good ole boys network is alive and well in Wicomico.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Joe, why did the old fire station recently sell at, pardon the expression, a "fire-sale" price (was it about $150K?) to a local developer when the county is prepared to layout $800K in rent?!!

    Really?!!!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thanks for keeping us informed.

    ReplyDelete
  28. To 5:11 Posting - Why did the old fire station recently sell at, a 'fire-sale' price about 150k when the County is going to dole out about 800k in rent.

    It is this kind of asinine mentality that has got our County in the predicament that we're in. You can't blame all of the County Council as it was Pollitt's Administration that recommended the Action. Thank GOD the County Council didn't bite - and saw things for what it is. The Lease/Rent at the Adkins building was a political payback that got found out in the end.

    ReplyDelete
  29. 5:23pm A "political payback", really, do tell more. You sound like you are in the know.

    ReplyDelete
  30. 5:56 - The public needs to see those campaign contributors who contributed to the Pollitt re-election. From gleaning over these post it is obvious.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Be assured it will be brought up for a vote again. There are big "under the table" bucks in it for somebody. I'm going to beat the "dead horse" again and suggest that something be done with the Winterplace Carriage house, the SLUM property owned by the county. Legally, no private person could use it for anything.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.