Top 10 priorities for the Salisbury City Council

With apologies to David Letterman and despite the fact I don’t actually live in the city (but do work and do much of my shopping there), here’s my Top 10 list of priorities for the new Salisbury City Council.

10. Fill in the blanks on annexation.

I seem to recall that one thing that the “Dream Team” wanted to do was “square off” the city of Salisbury, but instead they’re attempting to do a number of “pipestem” annexations. Work on filling in the unincorporated spaces so we don’t have situations when we drive down a road and pass in and out of the city several times.

9. Finish the Northeast Collector, and make it go someplace.

We all know that the plan for the Northeast Collector takes it up past the future Aydelotte Farms subdivision and to Zion Road – where it stops. Has anyone put some thought into tying Zion Road into the U.S. 13 interchange by extending the on/off ramps that exist? That way one could either get off at North Salisbury Boulevard (Business U.S. 13) or drive farther down the off ramp to a signal at an intersection built along the existing Zion Road for the Northeast Collector (or vice versa from the southeast on 13/50.) That would make the highway more useful.

8. Be more fiscally prudent.

I’ll cheerfully admit that I don’t have much of an idea about city finances, but logic dictates that a municipality that has a lot of existing debt is going to get killed on the bond market if they go to it again to add more debt. If I borrowed money like the city does, my credit rating would nosedive even if I paid the payments faithfully. Stop mortgaging the future.

7. Pay and/or benefits parity for public safety employees.

At least enough to stop the bleeding. Even if it’s not in pay, figure out other incentives for employees to stay. I liked the comp time idea brought up in Tuesday’s forum by Tim Spies, it’s at least something to move along the conversation on this subject.

6. Help Wicomico County update their Comprehensive Plan.

It’s interesting that, despite the fact the city of Salisbury is perceived as the 800-pound gorilla in the county, it’s actually home to only about 30% of the county’s population. But because of its location in the core growth area, the city has a lot to say about how the county is going to grow so the city also needs to contribute its share of decisionmakers to this effort.

5. Do SOMETHING with the Old Mall – preferably without giving away the store.

Because Nero has been fiddling while Rome burns, we’re no closer to doing something with this property than we were in 2004 or even 1998. And I have what I think are legitimate questions regarding the current plan. If this plan is so good and a surefire winner for the developers, why is the TIF necessary? Secondly, has there been a study of the entire existing building? I know some of it was condemned after a fire and other parts are in extreme disrepair, but is it possible to save any of the building? The reason I ask the question is why not look into alternatives to the Natelson/Dzaman plan, like salvaging some of the existing building as a place that could be rented out to entrepreneurs, a sort of business incubator? I’ve seen this successfully done in other places. With the 6,000 or so housing units allegedly in the pipeline, why not take a little time and explore alternatives that don’t add to this burden? Let the market catch up a bit and fill in vacancies we have!

4. Take care of our water situation.

We have the Wicomico River as our backup water supply, but it’s not in a convenient form. Being at 25% of the reserve capacity we should have is truly an unacceptable situation for everything from fire protection to drinking water. From the debate on Tuesday it sounds like water and sewer fees are going to a lot of things that aren’t water or sewer.

3. Establish a fee schedule that’s fair to both developers and the city.

From all accounts, Salisbury has become known as a city that developers can do business in at little cost to them. The fear I have is that the pendulum will swing too far the other way and growth will be choked off. (Actually it may just go to Fruitland, Delmar, or unincorporated portions of the county.) Obviously developers would pay zero extra if it were up to them, but this just isn’t realistic anymore. Some coordination with others in the county may assist in this as well.

2. The audit.

Hopefully it will be here in time for the general election in April. Someone has to hold the city’s feet to the fire on future audits so this situation doesn’t happen again. Apparently we only have one City Council person who’s willing to do so, but hopefully that number will be at least three after April.

1. Making the streets safer with every method at our disposal.

Crime in Salisbury is the number one problem according to most people you talk to. Lately some extra help has come from the Sheriff’s Office, and that’s good. But we also need to reclaim our neighborhoods. And the crime problem enhances many of the woes that befall Salisbury.

Let’s take a look at crime’s impact on home ownership as an example. Salisbury has an owner-occupied housing rate that runs about 25 percent. Obviously we’ll never be at 100% because of the University, but I’d say 50% is an achievable goal.

There’s been many complaints over the time since I’ve been here about the lack of affordable housing around our area. Much of the housing stock that is moderately priced is so because it’s also in neighborhoods that are crime-ridden. So discerning people who would be in the housing market are apprehensive about purchasing a home in many Salisbury neighborhoods. (I know I was.)

But if we can get a handle on the crime problem and begin to turn it around, perhaps a few brave souls will invest in these moderately-priced houses and make them their own. And an owner-occupied house with a family that takes care of their surroundings can trigger other ones in the surrounding area. Moreover, areas that are just starting to slide into that abyss of blight because of an increasing number of landlords who don’t keep up their properties may reverse this slide if houses that were rented revert back to owner occupation.

(In defense of landlords, most are folks who rent our their properties to supplement their income and do take decent care of them. Obviously it’s a two-way street where renters also should be cognizant of the fact they’re entrusted with living on someone else’s property – so don’t trash the place.)

Of course, this is my list and it’s far from complete. There’s as many priorities for the new City Council as there are voters who can exercise their right to elect their leaders come Tuesday and on April 3rd. (So if you live in Salisbury please do so!!) But I feel we do need people who have a vision of what lies ahead for our area and not people who are seemingly in the game to take care of their personal interests. It’s called public service for a reason.

 

 

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.