Ask Rick Pollitt

In keeping with my pledge to improve our lines of communication and keep the citizens of Wicomico informed, I will now be receiving Questions and Comments from you and posting my answers and responses here.

-- Rick Pollitt

Comment - New Library

I just want to add my opinion to the new library situation.

During this extremely difficult time, I really oppose the library being rebuilt. The roads, physical plants, and water treatment are just a small portion of the needs of this city. Please do not take the little money we have and mortgage it for a new library. Decisions have to be made to keep the city functioning and growing…and the library is at the bottom of this list. Please improve our roads… especially around Mill St./Rt 50 where the pot holes are horrific and the flow of traffic dangerous.

The library has little community support for a huge expenditure. Rethink--and Resist this waste of resources---we don't have the money--it doesn’t matter about the small grant money $375,000 that is obtained when the total cost is 100 times that amount. Again, please don't mortgage our future.

Executive Response

Thanks for your note. Please be sure to read all of the news. Absolutely no one is saying that the library should be built now. In fact, every single player in this discussion realizes that any new construction is years away. There happen to be opportunities available now that might allow us to acquire some property at no cost to the taxpayer. Responsibility and good common sense requires us to at least consider these options. You are correct that we have more pressing immediate concerns and they will be addressed long before the first brick is laid for a new building. You can count on it.

Comment - Civic Center Parking

Dear Mr. Pollitt:

I spoke at the Council meeting this past Tuesday in favor of the county continuing on with the purchase of the 5 acres of land at the Civic Center. Based on the facts that were presented at the public hearing, I certainly cannot find any reason why the council should put off one more day procuring this parcel of land. We cannot let our Civic Center stagnate and have no further growth due to negative comments from people that do not understand the facts. We should be proud of the Civic Center and it makes me sad when people that have no idea, speak like it is a weight on the county. They need to go and see for themselves. As I stated, we are hoping to bring another 2 days of shows this November to the Civic Center with hopes of increasing our dog show entries. People that show dogs like to go and stay at a place for at least 3 or 4 days and show. More and more dog show exhibitors are using motor homes which require much more parking space than the average automobile. We have already outgrown the parking area at the Civic Center and use additional space that has been provided. We are hoping to have some added attractions like a Barbeque or Bull Roast or something that will make our weekend appealing to all. We work closely with the Tourism department and I am sure Sandy Fulton will help us organize an event like this. Again, please "vote" yes to the 5 acres of land. Also, in the future, it would indeed by reasonable to "relocate" Glen Aveune to adjust the parking to the Civic Center more safely. BUT, let's first get the land.

Executive Response

God bless you! You have stated the matter precisely and eloquently. I understand the hearing went very well and I’m grateful for your support. We just need to keep that message going to the council members over the next two weeks.

Question - Landfill

The following is a comment from a citizen reacting to the news that the County received a $250,000 insurance payment to cover part of the loss from the thefts at the landfill.

Glad we were able to get this money back. I do however have a question/concern. (I suspect) the landfill fee that is paid annually by the citizens of the county, (and increases almost at the same frequency), aided in covering the cost of materials stolen/missing at the landfill. With the recouping of this money will it lead to a reduction of the annual landfill fee that is paid by the citizenry? There should be a direct and related financial benefit to those of us who use the landfill.

It is difficult for those that I advocate for, to pay increased taxes/user fees while having difficulty during these tough economic times. Let's find ways to reduce these financial burdens.

Executive Response

The landfill is an enterprise account, which means that it has to recoup all of its costs without going to the taxpayers for additional funds. Part of those costs are opening and closing the cells where trash is deposited - when a cell gets full, it has to be capped, and a new one opened. That activity occurs every few years, and costs millions of dollars.

The landfill fee is designed to allow us to pay the annual costs to operate the landfill plus accumulate the funds to pay for this activity. Otherwise, every time we had to do it, we would be coming to the taxpayers for additional funds, or we would have to skyrocket the fee to cover the cost. For example, if a new cell costs $2.5 million, and we sell about 7800 permits annually, that would be $320 more per permit.

Our landfill fee is less than Worcester's and is equal to Somerset's. The theft of the fuel means that in those years when that occurred, we were putting aside fewer funds. However, the landfill tipping fee has not been raised for ten years (1999) so no immediate costs were passed on to the taxpayer to operate the landfill because of missing fuel. The $400,000 from the insurance check and restitution by the thieves will help insulate us against future raises in the fee as the costs to open and close cells are always going up but does not guarantee we won’t have to do so as highway user fees deplete along with other traditional State support. During this fiscal year's budget adoption, we borrowed money from the Enterprise Account to defray costs of operating our Roads Division, not because of the landfill loss but because of severe cuts at the State level.

Question - The Revenue Cap

I would like to ask you a question, why do you keep harping about the revenue cap? I would venture to say if we did not have it there is a possibility that many homes would be foreclosed on in this county.

Also why is it when times get tight and the county can't continue in its lavish spending you want the taxpayer to pick up the slack. You would have to be blind not to see the spending in this county government and the BOE. We have assistants to the assistants stumbling over each other, fresh new vehicles and personnel in excess…not to mention the property purchases within the county.

I think it's high time the county government bit the bullet and forget the crusade to mess with the revenue cap.

Wicomico County Taxpayer

Executive Response

Thanks for your note and, believe it or don’t, I appreciate your taking the time to write. I have to say, though, that I wish you would also take the time to learn more about the issue before forming an opinion. For instance, you might be surprised to learn that qualified external auditors and efficiency experts have analyzed the operations of county government and the Board of Education several times and have consistently found that we do an exceptionally good job with what we have and there truly is no “lavish spending” or waste. It is always easier to assume the worst and make complaints but I’ve always felt that when you do, first, you should know what you're talking about and, second, you should have a responsible alternative to suggest.

The bare facts are these. We are obligated to provide the best schools, public safety and health services, and road systems. These are our core services. Beyond that, most people think we should also support our volunteer fire companies, our senior citizens and our recreation and park needs as well as many other services that citizens expect from government. All of these things carry a large price tag and what it costs this year will cost more next year. Government’s primary source of revenue to pay for these services is the property tax. When I was city manager in Fruitland, the city council understood that every so often, the tax rate needed to be adjusted by a few cents at a time in order to keep up with the cost of the services people expected of us. We "personalized" the discussion by telling people, for instance, that if you lived on Clyde Avenue and the tax rate went up a nickel, then, based on the value of your property, you would spend $20 more in taxes next year. In return for that $20, the City would hire two new police officers or upgrade the street lighting in the neighborhood or pay for higher salt prices for the streets during snow events. The point is, we made a connection between the rise in the tax rate and the services people would receive…usually for a dollar amount most could accept without noticing any pain.

Previous county councils failed to act responsibly and did not adjust the county tax rate to keep track with expenses. Finally, the councils of about nine years ago decided that they had no choice but to raise the tax rate dramatically. This sparked a taxpayer revolution that created my job and the revenue cap. I understand and respect how it happened. But the cap was written in a fundamentally flawed way. We have a 2% or Cost of Living limit, whichever is lower. Anyone can see that the effect of that is to drive down the tax rate to a level that simply will not fund the government. Now you may think that is a good thing but I have to ask you these questions:

• Do you want class sizes in school of 40 kids to a teacher or 20?
• Do you want the best teachers coming to our county because they know they will be treated well in good school facilities or do you want them going to Sussex and Worcester, each of whom pay higher salaries and benefits?
• Do you want the most talented and committed deputy sheriffs patrolling our roads and neighborhoods, keeping us safe or do you want the bottom of the barrel that can’t get hired anywhere else?
• Do you want rural volunteer fire companies that can reach your burning home in a matter of minutes or do you want to take a chance on a centralized station in the county seat sending help in your time of emergency?
• Do you want a park system that provides outdoor recreational activities for your children, giving them an alternative to push-button video games and television or do you want to keep them indoors, adding to the general decline of physical fitness in our country?
• Do you want quality roads that are paved on a regular schedule to keep them safe and drivable or do you want crumbling asphalt that throws your car out of alignment when you drive?

I could go on and on. Very few people have any clue as to the extent and cost of the services we strive to provide efficiently with the money we’re able to raise from our citizens. In next year's budget, your tax rate will fall to what it was in 1988. With adjustment for inflation, the actual dollar value is what it was in 1952. How in the world can you expect the county to do all people demand of us with a tax rate comparable to that of 50 years ago? Add to that, because of the State budget crisis, our State funding has been cut more than $6 million just this year. That is more than half the decrease in revenue we’re seeing for the coming year. Clearly, something has to give. If our citizens truly do not want to pay for the services to which they have become accustomed, then we have no choice but to cut those services back or eliminate them. I tell you clearly, that will mean a sharp decline in our quality of life and I also tell you I did not seek this job to preside over the ruin of the county. I would rather you simply vote against me if you cannot accept the truth of what I'm telling you.

Finally, understand that I am not advocating getting rid of the Revenue Cap. I realize we need to honor the concept and principle that government must operate within limits. But we can make the Cap work for us and there are several ways to do it:

• Change it to a true tax rate cap instead of a revenue cap, which, I believe, most of us thought we were voting for in the first place. A property tax rate cap of 2% is reasonable and something we could all live with.
• Change the percentage to a number (say 5%) that will still allow some degree of new revenue to come in, allowing us to keep up with rising costs and, when we can afford it, actually improve our level of service.
• Simply make a change that the percentage increase or the Cost of Living number, WHICHEVER IS GREATER be the standard, rather than the lesser, as it is now.

We can fix this problem if we work together as a community. The bottom line is that we have to decide what level of service we want from our county government and what we’re willing to pay for it. But this age-old bias that all government is wasteful and bloated just doesn’t hold water in Wicomico County. The record is clear that that simply is not the truth and to repeat such charges is to prolong the problem and do nothing to provide a solution.

I hope you will take the time to consider "the other side" of the story and possibly re-think your position and maybe even volunteer as a citizen to help us bring our county back to solid ground.

One final note on that point… and this goes to your accusation that we are not handling our finances responsibly…since I took office a little more than two years ago, the county has received two consecutive ratings improvements from the bond rating agencies on Wall Street. These people don’t care if you're happy with your schools and fire companies but they do care about how the county manages your money.

They say we're doing an outstanding job and are responsible, conservative and extremely careful with our handling of county funds. That should count for something, because it has everything to do with our credibility in the greater financial world.

I'm sorry for the length of this reply to your complaint but, as you see, it takes a lot more time to educate and inform than it does to criticize and tear down. I hope I've at least given you an opportunity to look at this in another way.

Thanks again for your note.

Question - WI-Hi Ballfield Maintenance

I have a question about the baseball field at Wicomico High School. I understand that this field is owned by Wicomico County and has not been improved upon in years. As this is the only High School in Wicomico County that does not have it's own field, does the County have any plans on making improvements? I have noticed that a new Colt League sign was installed and concrete was added under the bleachers but the actual field has not been upgraded in years. Kind of an embarrasment when other teams visit.

Executive Response

The Wicomico Memorial Baseball Field has had many improvements over the years but not so many have been done recently.

The new concrete under the bleachers was installed this year by the Wicomico Board of Education.

Park & Rec officials have met with Board of Education (BOE) officials concerning jointly-used facilities on BOE property. This includes the baseball field at Wi Hi. It is now understood that the BOE needs to do more maintenance work at that field because of reduction of funding for Park & Rec…particularly from Maryland's Program Open Space.

Please feel free to contact John Terrell of Park & Recs at 410-548-4906 or jterrell@wicomicocounty.org if you have further comments or questions.

Question - Federal Stimulus Funds

First THANK YOU for striving to keep your campaign promises to the citizens/voters of our county. What steps are being taken for the Federal Funds coming to the county? Is the city working with the county so that all citizens at all levels are positively affected by the plans?

Executive Response

Thank you for using "ASK RICK" on the county website and please know that I appreciate your comment on campaign promises.

I am taking a pro-active approach in an attempt to assure that Wicomico County doesn't get left behind as stimulus funds are dispersed. I have appointed a staff member to be the focal point of all the notifications that my department heads receive concerning funding. Also, that same staff member will be meeting with representatives of our two U.S. Senators and our congressman to discuss any federal stimulus package funding that may be available to us.

As part of our discussions, I intend to encourage solutions that will combine resources to leverage more funding for the entire Wicomico County community which consists of Salisbury, other municipalities and the county in general.

As mentioned, the state is receiving the largest share of the “stimulus” money. This is a great benefit to us in that it should serve to aid the State Of Maryland to continue funding such items as the teacher pension fund (annual cost - $11 Million). Governor O’Malley has pledged that he will not solve Maryland's economic problems “on the backs of the counties.” Stimulus funds should help him keep to this pledge.

Question - Whistle-Blower Program

Rick,

Sometime in the past year, you said you were going to start a whistle-blower program for county employees. When will this take affect?

Executive Response

Great question!

Your timing couldn't be better since the Employee Hotline is now up and running. I just sent a letter to all county employees about how they can use the hotline. We'll be sending out a news release on the hotline to let taxpayers know what we are doing to serve them better.

Question - Planning & Zoning

Have you or your office examined the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Mission Statement and/or agenda toward new sub divisions and their hidden agenda to stop growth (moratorium) instead of smart growth? As a land owner, I thought I had the right to sell, develop or TDR my property as long as I meet the Wicomico County sub division regulations under the law not the comprehensive committee reports, personal statements and environmental reports. If growth and development is stopped, then our future tax base, jobs and the future of this county’s economic development will suffer. Unemployment will sky rocket! What is the answer???

Thanks for your time!

Executive Response

Although there are people in the county who would like to slam the door on any future growth, I am not one of them. A community must grow in order to provide any kind of decent quality of life. How we grow is the challenge before us all. The Planning Commission has been given the difficult task of developing and implementing not just new subdivision regulations, but also a new zoning code and a variety of State environmental regulations, including Forest Conservation and wetlands resource protection. These apply differently depending upon whether a given property is in a designated growth area or rural/agricultural area, and also depending upon individual site characteristics. All of these are intended to operate under the "Smart Growth" principles of the State of Maryland.

While I certainly support the important objectives of resource protection and growth management, I have always been and will always be a champion of private property rights and a healthy economy. We must have a balance that provides us the cleanest environment while respecting the fact that people pay taxes on their land and have a right to expect to get a fair return on that investment if they choose to sell or develop. I will do my best to see that County regulations are applied as fairly as possible in pursuit of those guiding principles. That will be one of the missions of my administration.

Thanks very much for your thoughts.

Question - Hazardous Duty Pay

Rick: What are the conditions of the hazard pay that has been partially paid to some of the correctional guards at the Detention center? While I believe that the guards deserve this hazard pay do I deserve it any less because I am not a guard? I also have contact with inmates and believe that I am put at risk for being spit on, urinated on or even being attacked. As I said, the correctional officers do deserve this pay, but it is my belief that they are not the only employees of the Wicomico County Dept. of Corrections that are at risk and who also deserve some of this hazard pay.

Executive Response

The purpose of Hazardous Duty Pay is to compensate those employees of the Wicomico County Department of Corrections who are in mandated positions as written in the Code of Maryland Regulations and as defined by the Maryland Correctional Training Commission and whose primary duties include the direct supervision and control of persons committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections. While other employees (County and Contractual), volunteers, attorneys and clergy do occasionally have direct contact with inmates, the significant difference is,that if a situation arises that requires an inmate be subdued, C/Os are required to intervene, whereas other employees are required to leave the area and/or the situation. Additionally, by virtue of their positions, Correctional Officers are, for all intents and purposes, the enforcers of institutional rules. If an inmate refuses a lawful order, the CO, if needed, will use all necessary means, including physical force, to gain compliance. In doing so, they risk not only injury but exposure to blood borne and air borne pathogens.

Just as the person who wrote the inquiry, County employees in other departments, are from time to time exposed to certain hazards and/or hazardous materials which, if handled improperly, could do harm. This is why both the federal and state government's Occupational Health and Safety Administrations require certain levels of protection for all employees. However, none of them, save Deputy Sheriffs, have such exposure(s) written in their job descriptions as a requirement and expectation of their positions. I, along with the County Council, have recognized the unique and inherent danger in these positions and have agreed that it is worthy of special and additional compensation.

Thank you for contacting me.

Question - Collector Road

What is the status of the Northwest Collector Road?

Executive Response

Construction on Phase 1 of the new collector road is underway…This is from Route 50 to Brick Kiln Road. This is scheduled for completion this Fall at a cost of $2 Million. Phase 2 will go from Brick Kiln to Levin Dashiell Road and is set to be done by Fall, 2009 at a cost of $1 Million. All financing and right of ways are in place for Phases 1 & 2. Phase 3 will go from Levin Dashiell Road to Crooked Oak Lane and should be done by 2011. The cost will be $1.5 Million. The right of way work on this phase is not complete. It is important to note that part of this project includes improvements to Crooked Oak Lane as well as installation of a traffic light at the junction of Nanticoke Road and Crooked Oak Lane.

Thanks for contacting "Ask Rick."

Question - Property Taxes

What does Wicomico County do with property tax payments?

Executive Response

Property tax payments are deposited in the County's General Fund, and for the current year, are anticipated to fund about 37% of the County's budget. By law, residential property taxes must be used to help fund our schools. In the current year, anticipated revenue from property taxes falls just short of the appropriated funding for the Board of Education. The balance of the Board's funding, and funding for all other County services, comes from other sources of County revenues such as income taxes, grants, fees, charges for services, interest earned, etc.

County property taxes do not pay for water and sewer service as the County does not have centralized water & sewer. Your town water and sewer fees, not property taxes, likely pay for that infrastructure. County property taxes also do not pay for trash/landfill services which are paid for by user fees or through the municipalities.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me ... and thank you for taking the time to become more informed about your government - an involved citizen is our biggest asset.

Question - City/County Taxes

Please tell me the status of the study you promised to determine whether Salisbury city residents might receive a county tax break/rebate because of the overlap of services.

We moved here recently from Baltimore County, and are in minor shock at having to pay both city and county taxes. As you know, Baltimore city residents do not pay any county taxes, since the city is a separate entity.

I was pleased to see you at the Neighborhood Congress last night. I appreciated your comment about "Come Heres" and "From Heres." I am pleased to say that everyone in our neighborhood has been very friendly and welcoming.

Executive Response

Thanks for your kind words and I'm delighted, but not surprised, to hear that you’ve been well-received in your neighborhood. We are a friendly lot, most of the time. In reply, I was pleased that the County Council approved my budget request for funds to pay the county’s share of a comprehensive study of Tax Differential in partnership with the Cities of Salisbury and Fruitland and the Town of Delmar. We are currently developing the scope of work for the project and hope to have a Request for Proposals out sometime this Fall.

Historically, there has been a sharp divide between the county and the municipalities over whether the concept of tax differential is valid here or not. We hope the study will at least resolve that issue. If the county’s position prevails (this is,in part, that for every dollar of county taxes paid by town residents, about two dollars worth of services are received) the matter should end there. If the town position is vindicated (that residents are paying twice for the same service), we still need to find a way to make the system work. I'm sure there will be plenty of publicity about the issue as we move forward. Thanks for the note and best wishes as new residents of our community.

Question - Volunteer Fire Department

Hi Rick,

I have heard rumors that the council or yourself will soon be restructuring Volunteer Fire Department Territory and, if so, when will that be taking place and will you be doing this to all of the departments?

Executive Response

After all these years of relying on the County Fire Chiefs’ Association to determine boundary lines for fire districts; a new twist has come into being. According to the law, when a town annexes land, they are required to provide fire protection services along with other municipal services such as police, streets, garbage collection, etc.

Salisbury has recently annexed land that is located in the Hebron Fire District and the Delmar Fire District. Accordingly, the City has demanded that I direct our county emergency management office to transfer jurisdiction from those two companies to the City of Salisbury.

I initially attempted to delay the transfer, hoping instead to develop a new methodology that would satisfy the City’s legal obligations and maintain the integrity of years of local tradition. Unfortunately, the county attorney advised that I could be placing the county at risk by not immediately moving ahead as the law requires. Accordingly, the changes will be made. I still intend to pursue an effort to get all of the affected parties around the negotiating table to see if we can come up with a better plan that first, is legal and second, allows the greatest possible role for the firefighting community in the assigning and management of the fire districts. Thanks for your question.

Question - Funds for New Wells

Hi Rick

Is the county going to help the residents of Wicomico County with any funds for those that have to spend $5,000 for a new well? I live off of Nanticoke Road and just learned that this is my fate.

Thanks!

Executive Response

Hi and thanks for the note. We're working with the State Department of the Environment to identify all possible funding sources to help people meet that challenge. My well went dry three weeks ago and the bill for a new one is just about $5,000 after permit fees and the cost of the well is combined. It's probably too early to tell if the blame for the problem can be assigned to any particular party and whether there will be fines generated that can be distributed to those in need. We’re obtaining information about low interest loans and the possibility of grants for people that qualify. Once we have something definite to report we'll publicize the information through the web site and local media. Good luck with your problem. I know it's not easy.

Question - Development and Growth

As shown by the recent county elections and newspaper articles, the positive and negative effects from development and growth in the county and its municipalities are of great concern to most Wicomico County citizens. What are you doing in the short term and over the long term to gain the advantages from development and growth while reducing their harmful effects?

Executive Response

I think the one thing that stands out since last year's campaign began is the near unanimity of concern in the community for coming to grips with development in a way that manages inevitable growth while preserving the rural character of our county. I have been a strong supporter of agriculture preservation districts since my days as Planning and Zoning Director for Somerset County. And that was thirty years ago. During my time there we established the first three ag preservation districts in the county. In my new Wicomico County budget, I more than doubled the amount of money requested from P & Z staff for ag preservation.

I also placed funding in the budget to hire a professional consultant that will help us develop a grand strategy for the long-delayed upgrade of our comprehensive plan, zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations. It is my intention to conduct a massive public input campaign to engage all of our community in the formulation of the policies that will take us through the next 20 years.

In my campaign, I made a commitment to forming a blue-ribbon commission charged with investigating the feasibility of establishing a county-wide water and sewer authority. As you know, growth is guided by water and sewer capability and I believe we can form partnerships with the municipalities that offer public water and sewer services to better plan and accommodate the growth that is coming our way.

Along those lines, I was an early advocate of the Council of Governments concept. I believe that once the initial skepticism about this being another layer of bureaucracy wears off, the COG will be an invaluable tool for sharing information and resources as we confront issues such as growth from a unified position. Likewise, my Wicomico Neighborhood Congress should go a long way toward bringing more citizens into the debate, giving rise to potentially stronger support for effective growth management policies.

These are just a few thoughts off the top of my head. I welcome your ideas as well. In my campaign I made light of the old rivalry between "from-heres" and "come-heres," saying I wanted to make us all want to be "stay-heres." We need to make preserving the rural character of our county and the Eastern Shore our highest priority or we will lose the very thing that keeps anybody here.

Question - Property Information

It would be extremely helpful if property owners could access a county website showing the status of their property…mainly taxes owed and other relevant issues.

Executive Response

We are installing a new financial management system and we plan to have much more information on line in the next few years. In the meantime, the easiest way to check on taxes is to call the County Tax Office at 410-548-4840.

Question - Revenue Cap

I read your comment in the Chamber of Commerce Business Journal regarding the Revenue Cap " ... to the extent that the Revenue Cap can eventually die a dignified death, having accomplished its purpose." Please explain how it has accomplished its mission and, aside from wanting more money from tax payers, why is the concept of limiting government’s ability to take away our money a bad idea?

Executive Response

Hi and thanks for your note. My statement about the future demise of the revenue cap is predicated upon reaching a time when its purpose has been accomplished. We’re not there yet. So far, the only thing it has accomplished is limiting the resources government needs to provide the services the citizens expect. Government does not exist to spend money. There is neither motivation nor purpose in that. Government exists to provide the services to the people we cannot obtain on our own….public education, public safety, roads, drainage, parks, libraries, airports, etc. It costs a lot of money to provide these services and how well we do it directly impacts on how people perceive the quality of life in their community. I believe most people don't mind paying their fair share of taxes as long as the tax collectors and spenders are careful and efficient in the way that they do their jobs. Several years ago, when the County Council imposed a drastic and unreasonably large tax increase on us, citizens revolted, and rightfully so; and imposed the revenue cap on county government.

My job is to oversee the provision of county services to our people. There is a cost to that and it’s also my job to point out to people how much the services they want from us will cost. Then it becomes a choice and we as a community decide what our priorities are. This year, nearly $3 million in county roads work will not happen because of the lack of funds. I cut $1 million from the $2 million requested by the Board of Education. Other areas, including our support for seniors, volunteer fire companies, and improvements to planning and zoning have suffered significant cuts because we didn’t have the money to fully fund them. Without the cap, we would have raised $4 million more for county services without raising the tax rate a fraction of a cent. That’s $4 million that won’t go to roads, education, safety, seniors, and the rest.

Simply put, here is my position on the Revenue Cap. It was a predictable response by a fed-up community to an abuse of authority by their county leadership. My goal is to restore trust and confidence in county government by proving to people that I do respect where the tax dollars come from and how careful we must be in how we use them. Then, and only then, should we put the issue of the cap back on the ballot and let our citizens decide for themselves if the time has come to let it go. Believe me, no one dislikes paying taxes more than I do. I have plenty of other uses for my money. But I want quality schools, a decent road system, a nearby fire company and all the other services the government is supposed to provide. Too often we’re tempted to take the easy way and demand more and more from our government but then we say we don't want to pay for it. As is everything in life, it's all about balance. And that’s for the community to decide. Not me. But it is my job to lead and that I will continue to do.

I hope this helps and I really do appreciate your contacting me.

Ethics and Compliance Employee Hotline
1-888-331-4671

Safe Sidewalks at Salisbury Middle

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County Executive's 4th Annual State of the County Address

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