Maryland Politics

November 9, 2009 by Cato   Filed under Fiscal Policy , Maryland , Wicomico Politics On Tuesday, November 10th, the Wicomico County Council will hold a public hearing on County Executive Rick Pollitt’s proposed budget amendment.  Nominally, this budget amendment is to correct a revenue shortfall caused by a loss of over $6 million in state aid to the county.  In reality, Pollitt’s amendment is designed to force citizens to repeal the revenue cap and will result (within 7 – 19 months) with a tax increase for Wicomico homeowners and businesses. If you don’t mind paying higher property taxes, you should attend Tuesday’s hearing ... Read Full Story

November 9, 2009 by Cato   Filed under Crime , Maryland , Public Safety , Salisbury Politics Attend this evening’s Salisbury City Council meeting.  During public comment ask this simple question: Will you continue to support the rising crime rate or will you take action against crime, starting now? Let the Barrie Comegys bloc – Gary Comegys, Louise Smith, and Shanie Shields – know that you want change!  This means letting Police Chief Allan Webster go and putting someone in the job that is more concerned about fighting crime than attacking Mayor Jim Ireton and Councilwoman Debbie Campbell. Sphere: Related Content Tags: Allan Webster ... Read Full Story

October 27, 2009 by Cato   Filed under Fiscal Policy , Maryland , Somerset Politics , Wicomico Politics , Worcester Politics The arrogance of bureaucrats never ceases to amaze me.  They spend the TAXAPAYERS’ money yet act as if it’s from their personal discretionary account. A current example is the $4 million purchase of the Powerwave campus on the corner of US 50 and Walston Switch Road, east of Salisbury.  Almost daily we hear a sad tale of woe from Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley or Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt about the said state of either the Maryland’s or Wicomico County’s fiscal situation.  There ... Read Full Story

October 27, 2009 by Cato   Filed under Education , Fiscal Policy , Maryland , Wicomico Politics Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt took his anti-revenue cap show on the road this morning.  Speaking before a Salisbury / Wicomico Economic Development (SWED) meeting, Pollitt and a member of his finance staff argued that the county’s existing revenue cap is simply unsustainable. I would agree that the revenue cap is unsustainable without a genuine re-structuring of the county government.  This point has been argued for several years by Wicomico Councilwoman Stevie Prettyman. However, instead of moving to re-structure the government we see a “nibbling around the ... Read Full Story

October 14, 2009 by Cato   Filed under Crime , Fiscal Policy , Maryland , Salisbury Politics   When Jim Ireton was running to be Salisbury’s mayor there was no question that crime was a TOP concern of voters.  Things don’t seem to have gotten much better since his election.  At Tuesday’s meeting of the Salisbury Crime Taskforce Ireton provided some hint as to his solution for the crime problems – GRANTS . While Jim’s FRIENDS – Frank Kratovil, Barbara Mikulski, Ben Cardin, and Barack Obama – may be doling out taxpayer dollars by the bucket full, at some point in time Ireton is ... Read Full Story