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Sunday, February 02, 2014

Where's The Quotes From Your County Executive?


It is commonly known "the buck stops here" and in this case that would be County Executive Rick Pollitt himself. Instead, in today's Daily Times article referencing the almost $3.5 million shortfall there's no mention of Rick Pollitt.

Instead they say, “Nobody’s come to me and said, ‘Well, this happened in Sussex County,’ ” he said. “We have a number of very astute people scratching their heads.” Strausburg said. 

According to the Daily Times Strausburg also said, It’s too early to say how the budget proposal will shape up until a couple more months of jobs data become available, Strausburg said. But he isn’t optimistic about an upswing, adding that the county is likely to begin by assuming the $3.5 million isn’t returning.

I'll give Jeremy Cox credit, his article is fair, to a point. According to newspaper journalism and protocol they are to deliver facts and not opinion. Therefore Jeremy can only publish what he has learned through research and or what he has been told through his interviews. 

This is the difference between main stream media reporting and Blogs. In our case we not only deliver facts, we share our opinion as we see it. Hence the multiple articles we regularly provided on this topic. Through our own experts, (yes, I'll call them experts because we were right and they were wrong) because we've been calling the County Executive out on this for years. We knew this double dip recession was heading our way years ago, yet the Executives Office claimed we didn't know what we were talking about.

Because there is an election coming up, the Daily Times has NO QUOTE from the County Executive, once again creating a cushion of no accountability in the eyes of their readers. This makes Strausburg the FALL GUY and I guess that's why he gets paid the big bucks.

In the end you have to wonder, how is it Salisbury News saw this coming many miles away and knew a crash was about to happen, yet THEY are all scratching their heads and they are actually the ones who get paid the big bucks to make sure this doesn't happen? 

To the County Council they're thinking, when we have a tax increase it will actually be a small undertaking, no big deal. Wouldn't it be great if every small business had a lifeline to charge back all of your mistakes on the entire County, instead of taking a loss. I have to wonder, IF it were possible for small businesses to screw up and charge it back on the taxpayers, how would those taxpayers react? In other words, let's say you had a small business, you screwed up by $3.5 million and you charged it back to your NEIGHBORS and you had to face them every day. Every time you went to the grocery store or your spouse and people started looking at you, knowing times are already THAT TOUGH.

Come on people, why don't you hold your elected officials accountable in that way? I want to challenge the 5 year limit to live in the County because you and I both know, someone truly qualified to run the County will not move here and sit back for FIVE years in the HOPE they'll get elected. 

I created a Post the other day simply suggesting I might challenge this statute. I didn't say I was going to run. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. I simply asked, what do YOU think. Hillary Clinton came from Arkansas and all of a sudden ran for New York State Senate after only one year of being a resident there. You can run for State Senate but you can't run for County Executive, does this make ANY sense to you? I simply think this law is flawed and custom designed to keep the Good Ol' Boys locked in.

Wicomico County needs someone in the Executive's Office who doesn't scratch their head. You need someone who will LAUGH at the thought of pay increases during such harsh financial times. Did YOU know that even AFTER the shortfall was finally recognized that your County Council voted to hire a THIRD County Attorney??? I'd bet 99% of you didn't even know there was a second one on board already and now they want a THIRD and are getting it.

Now, how many of YOU are sitting there scratching YOUR heads right now?

99 comments:

Anonymous said...

They have a number of ass-tooting people scratching their heads

Anonymous said...

Not scratching my head Joe, maybe something else?

Anonymous said...

100 Best Communities for Criminals

Anonymous said...

It is interesting how they never mentioned Rick in the Times. I have to agree with Joe. The five year rule is wrong and it should be changed. I cringe thinking the next person in line when Rick steps down will probably be Barrie Tilghman.

Anonymous said...

There are 3 sitting council members running for re-election. We already have the other seats with good candidates running. Matt Holloway, Joe Holloway and John Hall are the 3 that are running for Re-election. Did they vote to hire a 3rd County attorney?

JoeAlbero said...

Joe Holloway did not vote in favor of the attorney, the rest did.

Anonymous said...

Have there been miscalculations in other categories?
What about:
Real Estate Property Taxes
Personal Property Taxes

If our foreclosure rate is soaring, our Property Taxes must be diminishing.

Anonymous said...

10:21 AM I doubt the County voters would put Barry Tilmon in office after Joe's blog ate him a new butt. You will never see him get elected outside of the city limits. Yes I said him because Barry is Jim Liarton in drag.

Anonymous said...

JoeAlbero said...
Joe Holloway did not vote in favor of the attorney, the rest did.

January 26, 2014 at 10:23 AM

Thanks Joe, that is something the public should know. Thanks Joe Holloway for being the most consistent in your votes which benefits the citizens the most.

Anonymous said...

They're astute alright, they're hiring another attorney to protect them from some upcoming lawsuits

Anonymous said...

Who would really want to run for office? It is a full time job with minimal pay and you get beat up on the blogs.

JoeAlbero said...

anonymous 10:23, Interesting how YOU are more educated than Wayne or Rick. Probably because YOU follow Salisbury News. Don't get me wrong. I know for a FACT that the Executives Office follows us like a hawk too.

Property values AND assessments are going DOWN, yet your property taxes are going UP. God Bless American Government, eh?

The Government goes like this and I said this to you YEARS AGO. You pay your mortgage, you pay your taxes for 25 out of your 30 year mortgage. The bottom drops out, you lose your job and guess what MR. MRS. AMERICAN, WE'RE TAKING YOUR HOME! There's no BAILOUT for law abiding AMERICANS!

Instead, let's rescue OTHER Countries. Let's bailout GE, Chrysler, the Solar Industry, all of whom PAY NO TAXES.

The Eastern Shore may not be able to change a Presidential Election but we sure as hell can change our local Liberals from being in office and get them the hell out.

Anonymous said...

It was very convenient that this information wasn't put out there when Pollitt did his state of the county address. Selective transparency?

Anonymous said...

"Selective transparency?"

Let's not mince words and call it what it is-deceitfulness, deception, dishonesty at it's finest.

Anonymous said...

It took the DT's a week to finally do this article. Maybe next Sunday we'll see something on the bury thing. Meanwhile I know more about Delaware then I do about WC by watching WBOC. If anyone says you don't have a place here Joe they are nuts. Thanks for all you do.

Anonymous said...

Please, no more Barrie Tilghman. That would be a disaster.

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable! Worcester County has 1 attorney and Wicomico needs 3. Can we say a legal department of incompetence? I suppose their thought is one of two things, the more attorneys... the more opinions to consider. LOL Or is this an example that Ed Baker has retired but is still showing up for his paycheck and they need someone else to pick up the work load. Regardless, anyone on this council who votes to add a 3rd attorney needs to be fired at the polls this year.

Anonymous said...

Property taxes may be problematic, as well. Last week the Office of Legislative Audits found that the Assessments & Taxaton Office had not inspected most properties in the last *9* years! State law says properties must be inspected at least every *3* years. The Assessment Office admitted this was true and they also had not verified claims for exemptions and other important filings. They also admitted that most property assessments are now open to challenge in court by anyone whose property was not inspected in the last three years. Basically, that assessment notice you receive each year is null and void.

Anonymous said...

Let's not forget something. All politicians begin their employment on the local level and move up from there.
Now most of us are fed up with whats happening in Washington and Annapolis. Well, how did they get there? They begin as a council person, city or county executive, a comptroller, a town manager,etc. Then they get elected to a state office as a congressperson or senator and then on a federal level.
My point is and I keep repeating it, if we wish to change business as usual in Maryland and Washington we must begin on the local. Liberal Democrats must be voted out.
Remember, little fish swim up stream.

Anonymous said...

barrie is a woman, you don't even know what you are talking about. That is half the problem. They don't know the issues, only what they read on here. Thank you for making my point.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Unbelievable! Worcester County has 1 attorney and Wicomico needs 3. Can we say a legal department of incompetence? I suppose their thought is one of two things, the more attorneys... the more opinions to consider. LOL Or is this an example that Ed Baker has retired but is still showing up for his paycheck and they need someone else to pick up the work load. Regardless, anyone on this council who votes to add a 3rd attorney needs to be fired at the polls this year.

January 26, 2014 at 10:57 AM

BINGO!!

Don't forget that the County Council voted to give Ed Baker a full time pension with benefits for only merely being a part time attorney. Ed Baker was a contractor who knew that he was a contractor when he started as the county attorney. Now he is living like a fat cat for doing part time work. Get these clowns out of office that voted to give Ed Baker a full time job with back pay in the form of a pension with medical benefits when he retired. It was more than just saying Ok you get a retirement, they had to buy back all of those years which cost thousands of dollars. What a waste and who ever voted for that needs to hang their head in shame.

Anonymous said...

April 2013 they stated that;
Business activity as measured by Sales and Use Tax receipts is down over 25%

What is it now?

I recall overhearing something on tv referring to the county's sales tax still being down, but did not catch it fully and can not find anything else on it.

10:28

Anonymous said...

Three attorneys? Of course they are needed. Those in charge are trying to walk a tightrope of what's legal and ethical. You need lots of legal brain power for that. Apparently the brain power is so weak in Wicomico you need more than one. I'm not sure that being Wicomico's attorneys doesn't attract those who aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer or they'd be lawyering somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

11;32 - I AGREE COMPLETELY DISGUSTING MOVE/VOTE

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Let's not forget something. All politicians begin their employment on the local level and move up from there.
Now most of us are fed up with whats happening in Washington and Annapolis. Well, how did they get there? They begin as a council person, city or county executive, a comptroller, a town manager,etc. Then they get elected to a state office as a congressperson or senator and then on a federal level.
My point is and I keep repeating it, if we wish to change business as usual in Maryland and Washington we must begin on the local. Liberal Democrats must be voted out.
Remember, little fish swim up stream.

January 26, 2014 at 11:08 AM

A congressperson or a senator is not a state office it is a federal office that represents a particular state or geographic region. Joe made the same faux pas in his article. We have a state senator and a state delegate. Totally separate offices.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

What about Bob Culver youtr friend?

JoeAlbero said...

anonymous 11:46, what about him. Bob is a great guy.

JoeAlbero said...

11:46, Bob is an American, BORN in America with an AMERICAN Birth Certificate. Are you suggesting he shouldn't run for Office?

Anonymous said...

The way things are looking, Bob Culver and Joe Holloway are the only county representatives that have enough independent thinking to call it like it is without influence from the peanut gallery!

Legal Eagle said...

10:28 Annie, the county gets no sales tax revenue.

Anonymous said...

By peanut gallery do you mean the citizens? Just what are you saying? The people are so stupid we need the brain trust that is Holloway and Culver? We will just see what the people will vote for in Nov. they are NOT a peanut gallery! Perhaps Culver and Holloway have been in office too long if they think so little of us.

Anonymous said...

Really Wayne - astute people scratching their heads. CLEARLY, THEY AREN'T THAT ASTUTE TO BLOW IT THIS BADLY!!!! Now that was a funny comment by you - and I don't care who you are> ROFLMAO

Anonymous said...

Isn't this Strausburg guy the same guy drinking and using a county vehicle. Things are starting to come together now.

Anonymous said...

Peanut gallery = Pollitt & company, that includes the Rinos on the council.

Anonymous said...

I just called the Daily Times and cancelled my subscription. I know you said this Cox guy did a decent write up on this Joe but to be honest with you, I'm tired of waiting a week to get slanted news stories. I discussed it with my husband and we both agreed. The information we're getting from them is not accurate and we can see where it becomes slanted. We come here every day anyway so there's no reason to keep paying for old news.

JoeAlbero said...

anonymous 12:16, that's your call. You can always see most of what they publish on line for free anyway.

Anonymous said...

11:44 Whether it's a congressperson, senator or delegate is not the point. The point is they get their experience on the local "good ole boy" attitude and carry it up the ladder even farther. That should not be hard to understand!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
11:44 Whether it's a congressperson, senator or delegate is not the point. The point is they get their experience on the local "good ole boy" attitude and carry it up the ladder even farther. That should not be hard to understand!

January 26, 2014 at 12:52 PM

Well if you want to make a point know what you are talking about or your credibility is just like your point. Worthless.

Anonymous said...

Mackel received a $10,000.00 a year raise in this budget, maybe that was a bribe to get him to say that income taxes would improve. My hat's off to Bob Culver, Joe Holloway and Gail Barkovitch for not falling for this. John Hall stated in the paper that this was simple housekeeping maybe some housekeeping needs doing and get rid of Hall.

Anonymous said...

J. Holloway and Culver are not the peanut gallery. They are the only ones who consistently question expenses and vote NO for the waste that spills forth from the PEANUT GALLERY. Don't let turn coat Prettyman off the hook for Bennett either. All the administration has to do is make her feel important and she votes their way. She's been had by them more than once and she is too ego-centered to see it.

Anonymous said...

"It's too early say how the budget proposal will shape up until a couple more months of jobs data become available, Strausburg said. But he isn’t optimistic about an upswing, adding that the county is likely to begin by assuming the $3.5 million isn’t returning."

NO IT'S NOT TOO EARLY to say such a thing. We know exactly how things will shape up UNLESS a real leadership position is taken.
Start slashing NOW. Furloughs whatever it takes. This shouldn't be on the backs of tax payers and residents. As harsh as it sounds this "mistake" is on the backs of the county which includes it's employees. I do not want to see any county employees hurt but the reality is, their "captain" created this crisis.

Anonymous said...

Misstating a state representative/delegate as a Congress person doesn't go against one's credibility, 12:56. We all got the point.
The message was important. If we want to change things on a federal level, we have to cut the heads off these snakes on the local level, so they can't climb up the ladder.

Anonymous said...

That's why we as voters need to start making sure we also focus on who to vote out instead of just people we like. As I said here before, Jim Mathis is a fine person, an all around fantastic person. Lord knows I love him. I voted for the person not the policy, I just don't think he represents my views, now that I am aware of his voting history in legislature. I will always respect him for at least trying and he still hasn't forgot where he came from, at least on a personal level. I see Jim at more local events than any other incumbent on the state or local level.

Really most of the problems we are experiencing as a nation, state and locally was caused by those who have been in government way to long. We didn't just get this bad off in just 6 years, the government spending has been a runaway freight train for the last 14 years and we haven't been getting accurate numbers on unemployment in four years.

Two wars that sucked the life out of our budgets for countries that may have been better off with dictators like Saddam. The minute we withdraw from Afghanistan the Taliban will be back in force. Al Qaeda in Libya, Syria and don't even get me started on Egypt. Those people are worse off now than before we "thought" we were spreading democracy.

Anonymous said...

How much more to we take. Tired of the way things are going in Wicomico County. Poor government and services.

Anonymous said...

WE need changes this coming November. Let vote out the old and get new blood in. Tried of hearing the same old story from local and County government. Maryland is bad state along with county.

Obama Crooked Bastard said...

Joe, I agree with you on a lot of things and 5 year residency mandate is the law in Wicomico County. I do not agree with it, I personally would like to see it to change. In order to get something done we need this to be put up for for vote ASAP.
As 10:57 correctly pointed out, hiring of 3rd Attorney shows level of incompetency and whoever voted for it needs to publicly explain Why or be Voted Out.
Lastly, I propose new mandate that any members of City or County Council who are on ANY GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE like Welfare or Food Stamps need to RESIGN. If they are on government's dough - their judgement is compromised. They have a choice - either GET OFF OR GET OUT! Laura Mitchel, can you hear me now?

Anonymous said...

1:08 I wasn't calling Holloway and Culver the peanut gallery, they aren't Rinos.

Anonymous said...

I wasn't for Stevie's vote for Bennett, however, up until that vote and this year she most certainly was the sharp conservative on the council and we are lucky to have had her serve. Wicomico was already in trouble without the Bennett project, that just sugar coats it because "it's for the children."

Anonymous said...

Matt Holloway isn't all that, he's another RINO that needs to go, the only person he is interested in is himself. He is not a friend of the farmers either.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't sound like Stausburg is very confident that things are going to get any better, any time soon.

According to the Daily Times Strausburg also said, It’s too early to say how the budget proposal will shape up until a couple more months of jobs data become available, Strausburg said. But he isn’t optimistic about an upswing, adding that the county is likely to begin by assuming the $3.5 million isn’t returning.

Anonymous said...

With new suv,s ,30k plus bonuses, and big raises for all @ The Civic Center, Mackes Propaganda Director Andy Gobbells says its all good!!!! How did Strasburg who is supposed to be a smart man not see the impending doom and knowing O,malley was gonna dump the B.O.A. pensions on the local govt,s. As far as the property tax revenue goes no rocket scientist or masters degree was needed to for see what has come to be. As always I thank Mr Albero for keeping us in the know!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

12:56 Please explain why my point about about local politicians is worthless! My point is that we need to elect people who are going to be responsible to the people that elected them.
You mean to tell me that the 70 new tax laws under the O'Malley administration the citizens of this State were in favor of?
The economy is not good here in Wicomico Co. For that matter, for the whole Country. It's because you can not run a government when you are spending money you don't have! Sooner or later the bubble will burst.

Anonymous said...

Couldn't Pat Petehead block this article?

Anonymous said...

I have to disagree with you, Joe, about the Cox fellow being fair. Maybe with this article, but for his first year or more with that paper, he certainly carried Liarton's water. He's a smooth operator with his words, though, making it sounds like he's not biased. That editorial board of that rag, past and present, has connections that I believe sway their judgment, too. Just my opinion, but it's why I don't subscribe.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
J. Holloway and Culver are not the peanut gallery. They are the only ones who consistently question expenses and vote NO for the waste that spills forth from the PEANUT GALLERY. Don't let turn coat Prettyman off the hook for Bennett either. All the administration has to do is make her feel important and she votes their way. She's been had by them more than once and she is too ego-centered to see it.

January 26, 2014 at 1:08 PM

You make an excellent point. She and Matt Holloway gave into the whining administration that wanted to proceed with Bennett Middle School. How BMS is being built could have been built with less materials and been just as good. She caved in and she isn't even in the county representing her people. She spends most of her time in Florida. Can't say I blame her on that one though.

Anonymous said...

I did not read the article, so I have to ask: Did the reporter say, "Pollitt could not be reached for comment." or "Pollitt declined to comment." or "Pollitt did not return calls."

That is what the reporter did to any politician he didn't like. If he didn't have those lines in there, then he either isn't fair or didn't try to contact Pollitt, which means he stinks at being a reporter.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Misstating a state representative/delegate as a Congress person doesn't go against one's credibility, 12:56. We all got the point.
The message was important. If we want to change things on a federal level, we have to cut the heads off these snakes on the local level, so they can't climb up the ladder.

January 26, 2014 at 1:27 PM

Thank you 11:08 am and 12:52 pm

Nice way to pretend you are someone else.

Anonymous said...

2:34 PM what is a B.O.A. pension?

Anonymous said...

Prettyman hasn't represented "her people" for some time. She is a shill for Strausburg, Mackes and even Pollitt now. She loves the attention they heap on her to get her vote. She isn't a sharp conservative at all....just another RINO disappointment with no legacy to leave after 16 years. Glad she is in Florida - needs to stay there...she won't be missed on the Council. Hope we can vote in a true Republican to replace her RINO ways.

Anonymous said...

Fact is - no one in the current administration will admit to the massive, AND I MEAN MASSIVE, number of local factory closings. You can't loose Goliath staple industries; i.e. Hallibuton, Crown, Campbells Soup, Shawnee, Bayliner, so many that I cannot even post in this comment tree.

Now - even the areas largest employer, PGH, the one that was suppose to be recession proof has laid off several hundred.

WE ARE IN A FULL BLOWN DEPRESSION, what did they start doing on January 1st, 2014, - INCREASED THE WICOMICO PIGGY BACK TAX FROM 3.1% TO 3.2%. But hark, wasn't this suppose to the be solution to Wicomico's budget woes!!! So what is this - a projected 3.47 million dollar hole?

I encourage all of those reading SBYnews to not elect any of the spend thrifts - even if it is your own mother.

Anonymous said...

3:18 I'm confused. Who is pretending? Are you stating that 11:08 and 12:52 are pretending?

Anonymous said...

Wait till the BOE pension liability numbers are revealed for FY 2014-2015 budget and even more so for the 2015-2016 budget. Remember the pension shift from the State to the County. IMHO we are experiencing a depression. But this time around one can get an EBT card, instead of soup coupon.

Anonymous said...

The next meeting of the Republican Club is Monday, January 27.

William Campbell, candidate for Maryland Comptroller, will speak, as will Dr. Rene Desmarais, candidate for House of Delegates, 37B. We hope to see everyone there.

When: 6:30 p.m. -- social half-hour. 7:00 p.m. -- meeting begins
Where: Salisbury Chamber of Commerce, 144 E. Main St., Salisbury

Thank you, and see you Monday.

Anonymous said...

To the Editor

I just got back from Baltimore today and I want to tell you;

'You Have Knocked It Out of the Park on This Article'

If these recent events and coverages don't resonnate with the electorate, I don't know what will. EXCELLENT REPORTING!

Anonymous said...

Prettygirl was a democrat before she ran for county council, she changed to a republican so she could get elected in her district.

Anonymous said...

Hall bends his elbow too much stays confused.

Anonymous said...

While everyone is posting on the state of Wicomico's economy, in just a few short weeks JC Penny will be transitioning out of here. So even the retail anchors see the handwriting on the wall. There are simply not enough jobs for our general population.

Anonymous said...

"she won't be missed on the Council. Hope we can vote in a true Republican to replace her RINO ways."

She's not running again? Well if not, then that's a fine hell of a to do. When you contribute to a mess, and the time to make some hard choices comes along you run? This is proof positive of a lot of people's attitudes toward politicians and why people do not respect them. The politicians think of it as all play but don't want to make the hard decisions to better the community and for future generations.

Anonymous said...

Have anyone noticed that none of the other medias report on how bad the local economy is until Salisbury News reports it. Only then do they start to report the events.

Anonymous said...

I think it is hard to get a handle on improving the local economy especially when the state and feds are increasing their regulatory roles. And the employment numbers continue to reflect the disintegration of our nations industrial base. Unfortunately, it appears to be getting worse.

Anonymous said...

Most of the jobs are service oriented jobs. Jobs like Wal-mart, cashiers, Sam's, restaurants, Royal Farms, Dunkin, WaWa, Home Depot.

Now, today's news says that Sam's will be laying off. So that segment is even breaking down. It is not a good scenario for graduating classes. The local economy is really a train wreck. Most of this has been in the making for a long time now.

Anonymous said...

There are vacant buildings everywhere. On the west side of town going to Hebron - there is another large abandoned masonry structure, I believe they did machine work. Then I noticed that Quiznos has closed across from Wal-mart. The old Superfresh store across from where Dresser used to be is still abandoned with exception to the fitness center.

I could go on an on about abandoned businesses. No sooner than one opens then another closes. Even McDonalds in the Centre of Salisbury Mall has closed and I have never seen a McDonalds close. I also noticed that it looks like Salad Works has gone across from Wal-mart. It looked like the lights were off. Also, the old Blockbuster building is still vacant on both ends of Town. And there is a very big vacant structure, I believe it was the Gospel Shop that was located across from SuperG - it is still abandoned.
There are vacant buildings everywhere.

Anonymous said...

Did anybody mention the liberal Democrats and Obamacare? I said 2 years ago, Obamacare will put this Country on it's knees.

Anonymous said...

I do not foresee the feds tightening or restraining the printing of money. The nations economy is still on very shaky grounds and any restraint at all will send the economy in a tailspin. So they will continue to print more and more - getting us deeper and deeper into debt. It really is a very bad scenario as there is no solid underpinning to our economy. Yet the democrats say that we are making headway. I say they have got it all wrong.

Anonymous said...

And Mr. Hall, with his "brilliant" comment, "this is basically a housekeeping measure" needs to go home too. I can't believe that a real Republican would ever say that about a $3.5 million short fall.

Anonymous said...

Joe - I hope like heck I don't get another tax increase. I simply cannot afford it anymore as I am not making enough money.

Anonymous said...

Again, I hate to inform you that this is a local problem and not a national issue. There are numerous thriving economies in the US but the slower lower is not one of them. Until people take it upon themselves to become active in local politics rather than sitting on the sidelines, you will continue to festering what the bury has become.

Anonymous said...

Joe - thank you for helping to keep us in the know on these most important community issues.

If it was not for Salisbury News media, this all would have been swept under the rug, up until the day that the new tax notices were to be sent out. At least I can make some preliminary preparations for all of this. And I am not very happy about hearing anything related to another tax increase. And I think I am speaking on behalf of the vast majority of citizens, we have had enough.

Anonymous said...

I would say the No.1 issue facing Wicomico county is the lack of a sustainable employment base.

The No.2 issue I would say would be the high debt that is strapped upon our college kids with no employment upon graduation.

JoeAlbero said...

anonymous 8:25, Excellent points. However, allow me to remind ALL of you how Jim Ireton, Barrie Tilghman AND Rick Pollitt ran campaigns stating they wanted to create jobs in which the young adults graduating from SU could STAY HERE. ALL of them failed miserably, yet somehow and mysteriously while failing to deliver got re elected. GO FIGURE!

Anonymous said...

Go figure? We just have to face the fact that democrats only vote the party line. Performance does not matter. Any failure on the part of any democrat is always the other party's fault.

Anonymous said...

11:58 I am aware of that and my comment was in reference to the public budget meeting and the sentence I referenced was from the county website referencing how they measured business activity.

Try and comprehend what you read instead of inappropriately criticizing.

Since you offered no answer I gather you have none.

Anonymous said...

Annie get ur gun.

Anonymous said...

Politics is the gentle art of getting votes from the poor and campaign funds from the rich, by promising to protect each from the other.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, where is those quotes???

Anonymous said...

Funny that they didn't know about Sussex County doing well. They had a $2.4 million surplus this year. Did Rick or Wayne call Anderton? Houlihan? Any member of the Sussex County Council? Of course they didn't. Because they didn't do their homework and now they look like they are either lazy or dumb or both!

Anonymous said...

I'll tell you how bad the economy is in Wicomico. I want to open up a new alternator/starter business. I inquired about the building near Bob Lawrence's old car wash. It was previously a Dry Cleaning business. That big building is advertising rent for $1500 a month. I inquired and get a call back saying that if I need an extra month to set-up that it would be free. Still looking - a few days latter I get another call saying they will give me (2) months free rent. A few days latter I get yet another - saying they will give me (3) months free rent.

So now I am scared to open up period. The same scenario seems to apply to most of all Salisbury as everyone is giving free rent. NOW THAT IS VERY SCARY AND IS THE GOSPEL TRUTH.

Anonymous said...

Reference to Annie & 11:58 Legal Eagle Posting.

I would not hold my breath. If my memory serves me correctly, there is an effort underway in the Maryland Legislature that will allow localities to collect a LOCAL SALES tax. Yes you heard me right - it will empower a municipality to impose a local sales tax.

Anonymous said...

There are many shopping center vacancies up by Layton's racketball.

The old Diner is still available for rent and it has been gone for several years now. There are vacant buildings everywhere. Also, there are vacant apartments everywhere. Not to mention there are foreclosed houses everywhere. I agree, our surrounding environment does not look good at all.

Anonymous said...

6:59pm - Hall is a lackey of Mackes & Strasberg. They tell him how to vote. He also enjoys multiple cocktails.....see how all of this is fitting together? Drinking buddies. At least he doesn't have a county vehicle.

Hall doesn't appear to be very bright and certainly hasn't earned the right to election - remember he was appointed....the people didn't choose him.

Anonymous said...

Of course Sussex county is doing better, people have been fleeing this area and moving to Delaware! You can't teach these old dogs new tricks.

Anonymous said...

I realize most people blame Obama for all the problems facing the country, but we have to face facts. The problems in Wicomico started long before Obama was elected and the decisions made by the "Republican" controlled Council haven't solved anything. Our elected "officials" have done this county in....for years....so Obama policies may be making things worse - but they are not the root cause. Our own home grown elected people did us in.

Anonymous said...

Yes, surrounding counties are doing better than we are. They are better places to live with lower taxes, thriving small towns (Berlin, Snow Hill), better schools. Wicomico is becoming the armpit of the Eastern Shore with no decent jobs, too many rundown rentals, gangs, crime, drugs. The makers are leaving to live elsewhere and the takers continue to drag this county down. Good job those in power - your policies and decisions have brought us to this point. Are you proud now?

Anonymous said...

Wicomico is beyond armpit, it's more like the crotch of Maryland now. And it stinks!

Anonymous said...

Sussex county gets casino revenue idiots. The also had a bulding boom that should have come to Wicomico but who in the hell wants to live in this giant ghetto. Good Ole Boy and Ganster capitol of Maryland. Funny the hub of the Eatsern Shore is broke all the time or they are just letting certain employees rob it blind and not do a day in jail.

Anonymous said...

I do not believe Wicomico will ever be able to lure credible businesses to this area.

Just to many obstructions. Businesses don't want to be saddled with regulatory burdens. The only way a business can survive in this environment is if they employ a paramiltary organization to fight off the regulators.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to Maryland where taxes are more important then job growth.

Anonymous said...

Politicians don't have a good track record with voters these days. Do we blame them?