Wicomico County – Page 17

Pork in the Park 2010 in pictures and text (part 2)

Now for the more fun stuff. This isn’t going to make a point; it’s just pics I found interesting.

This was the back of the event shirt. Yes I bought one.

Obviously the idea of this festival is to promote tourism and the local economy. No question the ribs are the attraction, but other vendors hoped their wares were sufficient to make theirs a profitable weekend too.

It's not just barbecue-related companies showing up at Pork in the Park. Build a crowd and other vendors will come.

Aren't these guys from Boordy Vineyards at the wrong festival? They're regulars at the Autumn Wine Festival, and I find it interesting how the two largest county-sponsored festivals occur almost exactly six months apart on the calendar.

When I came to the Eastern Shore six years ago and attended my first Pork in the Park, I was expecting an event similar to that held in my hometown (Northwest Ohio Rib-Off) where 20 or so rib joints peddled their wares to the public. I was actually disappointed that only a couple places were actually selling ribs to eat.

But as this event grows more and more places are selling ribs to eat. These are some of them and aside from Florida Skin n’ Bones I believe many of these vendors are new this year.

The Chop Shop BBQ both competed and sold food, part of a growing trend I like seeing.

I actually meant to try some of these ribs but didn't make it over there. This Ohio-based company shows the regional reach of the event.

More and more competitors are selling their wares - a good sign for the viability of the event.

Like any good food event, you could get more than just ribs.

If the other other white meat is your thing, how about barbecued turkey legs?

Another new attraction came from Mountaire, oddly enough playing in Perdue’s back yard.

Mountaire is new to Pork in the Park, and they had a Chicken Pickin contest to determine who could root out the most meat.

There’s a few other interesting shots the two of us took. Some have a point and others are just for the “awwwwww” factor.

Aside from a few incidents where people had too many beers and maybe a lost child or two, these guys probably weren't too busy so they could find a little shade. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Maybe the reason Black Cat BBQ didn't win any awards was having the dog scare them away. Kim liked the juxtaposition of the photo and so did I. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Philly's Finest BBQ team is starting their help young. Isn't this young lady just too cute? Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

It can't be denied that competitors have a wicked sense of humor. We found this at the Carolina Beau booth. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Sunset on Saturday over Pork in the Park. I just liked the picture so I included it.

The games midway after dark. I took this during a break in the Battle of the Bands.

Can you tell we enjoyed ourselves Saturday? Probably wasn’t that great for the waistline but we did walk around a lot and rocked to the Battle of the Bands, if only to keep warm!

Next year’s event again retreats a little earlier on the calendar; the 8th Annual Pork in the Park is slated for April 15-17, 2011.

Pork in the Park 2010 in pictures and text (part 1)

On Saturday my significant other and I spent most of the day at Pork in the Park. It provides us the opportunity to enjoy good food, taking lots of pictures – which explains why I have two parts – and a chance to tell a story from perhaps a different angle from one you may have seen before.

During the awards ceremony, we were told that our humble little event has grown in seven years to be the second largest in the country and largest east of the Mississippi River. I guess that’s based on the number of participants, but it amazes me that something a lot of us guys take for granted has grown into a pastime which can take up most of a summer. Yes, leisure has become work for many, including what I presume is a local group called Smokin’ More Than Pork.

This group didn't have far to travel but spent a chilly and windy evening tending their fire. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Other groups come from farther away, and they have one thing in mind.

The Heavy Hitters sit and watch the world go by from their spot at Pork in the Park. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Obviously they didn't sit the whole time - their hard work garnered them a second place finish in the Whole Hog category. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Certainly slaving over a hot grill for hours on end can be demanding work.

Unfortunately, I don't recall who this competitor represented but it was a scene repeated all Friday night and Saturday. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

I found this shirt worn by the folks at Mook’s BBQ interesting. If you didn’t think this was big business, check out this ambitious “Inaugural Tour” schedule:

I would have to presume a number of these outfits are going to follow a similar schedule which takes them into the fall. Pork in the Park serves as the kickoff.

It also takes some funding to buy the equipment necessary to compete at the level, like these special trailers.

Chix, Swine, and Bovine had this tricked out trailer to help with their equipment. I would guess it comes in handy for catering jobs too. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Other competitors used items which were more 'off-the-shelf' but still serviceable. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Part of the marketing involves the bragging rights garnered from previous high finishes.

Butts Up BBQ has been here before and done well. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Others have various wares to sell to grilling enthusiasts.

If you want to rub your meat, it's obvious 3Eyz BBQ has just the stuff you need. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

This is the first time I've seen shirts put out by a competitor tailored to the event. I guess we've arrived. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

There were a few outfits using these Big Green Eggs but the manufacturer came by to sell some as well. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Others chose their distinctiveness in different ways.

If these guys walked anywhere, you could pretty much tell who they represented. But doesn't sauce clash with tie-dye? Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

In the end, though, the competition was about the money. All those trinkets and toys cost some coin, and top finishes in the seven categories won up to $1,000. The Grand Champion, Reserve Champion, and Maryland State Champion also won additional prizes up to $2,500 – needless to say this hobby isn’t lucrative unless you do some additional marketing or have it as an adjunct to a main food service business.

But here were your winners from Saturday.

The Reserve Champion for this year's event was the Serial Grillers. Clever name and obviously good work. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

Considering they were both the Maryland State Champion and Grand Champion for the event, I believe Chix, Swine, and Bovine can afford the fancy trailer. Photo by Kimberley Corkran.

You may have noticed Kim took most of these pictures. I tended to look at the event as a whole for its newsworthiness and as a comparison to past events. Most of my photography will come with Part 2 tomorrow as will the later coverage of the music as another volume of Weekend of local rock.

Parsonsburg welcomes Bob Ehrlich

It’s not the biggest of places, but if you want to have a farm as a backdrop former Secretary of Agriculture Lewis Riley’s Parsonsburg farm is the place to be. Governor Ehrlich’s campaign kickoff stopped there this morning and I have pictures, text, plus a special surprise at the end.

Most of this will be in pictorial form. To begin, let me point out it was a little muddy on the farm this morning.

The ominous-looking clouds indeed produced rain as those present awaited the Governor's arrival.

The signs were already made up, though. Think this is a winning campaign issue?

This refers to Bob Ehrlich's promise to rescind the 1 percent sales tax increase which became effective in 2008.

People were in good spirits despite the weather. Luckily there was a place to get out of the rain.

It's a barnload of people who anxiously awaited Bob Ehrlich's arrival.

Needless to say, a host of local GOP candidates and officeholders were about. Here’s District 38 Senate candidate Michael James.

District 38 Senate candidate Michael James was going to be master of ceremonies for the Ocean City stop on the Ehrlich tour.

They also flanked Wicomico County Councilman Joe Holloway, who served as master of ceremonies for the event.

Joe Holloway was a good master of ceremonies because he's a man of few words.

District 38B candidate Mike McDermott also graced the podium with brief remarks.

Pocomoke City Mayor and Delegate candidate Mike McDermott called Bob Ehrlich a 'governor who understands surpluses.'

McDermott also played on the fiscal theme, calling Ehrlich one who “believes in actually lowering taxes.” The important number to him was 71, as in 71 of 141 seats in the General Assembly. Ending a century and a half of Democratic control could be a tall order, though.

Former Secretary of Agriculture under Ehrlich, Lewis Riley (left) hosted this event at his farm.

In introducing the once and perhaps future governor, Lewis Riley recalled how he was 'more impressed' with Ehrlich as a delegate.

In his introduction, Lewis Riley described Bob Ehrlich as one who’s knowledgeable on Maryland’s needs and wants. While that was being said, Ehrlich struck a thoughtful pose.

I think this may be my favorite picture from the event. Very statesmanlike.

I’m going to come back to what Bob Ehrlich said shortly, but afterward many of those there wanted a piece of him (figuratively, of course.)

Joe Holloway (right) wanted to have a shot with the Governor and I obliged too.

I’m not sure why both local television stations weren’t there (perhaps the other one was awaiting the Ocean City or Easton stop) but Channel 47 covered the Parsonsburg event.

Bob Ehrlich being interviewed by the local media, in this case Channel 47.

I liked this shot too, and throw it in just because.

I call this shot 'The Camera Eye'. It's a Rush song too.

Now, as to what Governor Ehrlich said – you can hear for yourself. I took video of his remarks.

In case you’re wondering, there’s probably about 50 to 75 people in the background behind me. The Channel 47 camera was to my right.

Afterward, I asked him about the effect lowering sales tax would have. Since the sales tax annually brings in about $3.7 billion according to the Comptroller’s office, taking 1/6 of it would be about $600 million. How would the gap be filled?

Bob explained to me that mine was a static analysis (true) and that the increased economic activity lowering the tax would create would fill in part of the gap (also a good presumption.) In addition, with slots coming online that revenue will enable the state to lower our tax burden in that manner. (Bob also brought up the what-if scenario of had slots passed in 2003.) All in all, it was a good answer and about what I expected.

With that, Ehrlich continued on to stops in Ocean City and Easton as he continued his statewide announcement tour. This is probably the most we’ll see of him because the battle is likely going to be for the suburban voters across the bay and let’s face it – Ehrlich should carry the Eastern Shore handily. (If not, he’ll be lucky to come within 15 points of Martin O’Malley.)

So…is this a suitable temporary replacement for Friday Night Videos?

Wicomico’s budget crunch

Clocking in at over 2 1/2 hours and plagued by technical difficulties, the public had its say regarding Wicomico County’s FY2011 budget last night.

The first 45 minutes of the show were spent by County Executive Rick Pollitt, our first County Executive – although as he joked, “if things keep going the way they are I might be your only County Executive” explaining the budget process. And it is still “a work in progress,” explained Pollitt.

Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt debuts the 'perfect storm' slide in his budget presentation, April 8, 2010.

Rick explained the county’s budget was the casualty of a “perfect storm” of “three serious fronts” – the recession, state funding cuts, and the revenue cap. But we were “not here to debate the revenue cap” and, besides, “objecting to taxes is as American as apple pie.”

Pollitt’s view is that “government exists to do that which we can’t do for ourselves.” But the budgetary troubles created by our situation placed the county in “extreme financial distress” to a point where we can’t make the Maintenance of Effort educational funding guidelines of the state. “I think that’s a tragedy,” said Rick.

While we had bridged the gaps in prior years by the usage of fund balances (nearly $12 million in the last two years) there is a dwindling pot to dip into, but how much remained wasn’t made clear in the presentation. Still, Pollitt stated, “we don’t spend everything we get our hands on.” To his credit (and certainly mindful that we’re in an election year), Pollitt ruled out a number of tax increases in his draft budget. There will be no increase in the recordation tax rate, enactment of a transfer tax, or raising of income or property tax rates. Keeping the property tax rate the same even though legally it could be increased even with the revenue cap saves taxpayers $400,000. Still, Pollitt asked about the revenue cap “at what point do we look at the cost of it?”

Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt explains the county's share of its expenditures at a public budget meeting, April 8, 2010.

A closer look at the expenditures pie.

Looking at expenditures, Rick told us that “when we started the process we knew we would be in trouble.” Department heads were told to submit the bare minimum needed to run their departments by law, but the county was $22 million short after those requests were submitted. So cuts were inevitable, particularly in education, public safety and health, roads, and school construction. Even more troubling was Pollitt’s expectation that the maintenance of effort waiver would be turned down, leaving less room to cut education.

Pollitt seemed a bit emotional as he delivered the bad news. “We need a reason for people to want to come here,” he said. But the quality of life was affected by budget cuts and there “shouldn’t be a cavalier response to our budget crisis…we will have employees lose their jobs this year.”

Overall, Rick posed it as a question that we as a community need to answer: what services do we demand from county government and what are we willing to pay for them?

Over 200 people jammed the Flanders Rooms of the Wicomico County Youth and Civic Center to have a say.

Then the public had their turn – over 30 stepped to the microphone of the 200 or so filling the room. Five of the seven members of County Council were among them – Gail Bartkovich and Stevie Prettyman were the absent pair, at least when the event started.

In what seemed like a well-coordinated effort, about 1/3 of those who had their say were either in education or worked with the library. Needless to say, their goal was to prevent their ox from being gored. Mark Thompson of the Board of Education was quite succinct in his appeal, daring those attending that “if you can’t fix the problem – shut up.” School superintendent John Fredericksen also was “very concerned about the massive cuts we’re going through.” Similarly, a representative of the county volunteer firefighters warned that funding was “already inadequate” and a parks and recreation supporter called cutting that department “a grave mistake.”

The AFP had a presence at the meeting too. Something tells me the teachers aren't jumping to become members of this organization advocating limited government.

But that’s what I’ve come to expect at these meetings – even Pollitt mentioned to a citizen afterward that no one came up to the microphone and said “cut me.”

In fact, there were some interesting ideas for cuts and efficiency brought forth.

Marc Kilmer made several good points, pondering if department heads are the best judges for cutting spending to their departments and the “need to get a hold of” our pension system.
We all liked Brad Gillis’s description of the 2003-07 era as “a really good party” but now we’re enduring the hangover.
Matt Tremka again raised the suggestions of eliminating the two at-large County Council positions and the public information officer. But Pollitt took eliminating the PIO off the table since many of those commenting wanted to have more information about the budgetary process.
John Palmer stressed the need for a county auditor.
Ken Nichols probably didn’t make many friends in the audience when he suggested teachers take a 10% pay cut. Of course, with education being a labor-intensive field that could make a serious dent in the deficit.
Donnie Waters asked if we could “distribute the tax load” by raising taxes on tourism-related items and getting enabling legislation to allow us to keep tax revenues here. To him this annual budget process was “organized political insanity.”
G.A. Harrison pointed out that there were “no reductions in spending until revenue dropped” in the last couple years and that educational money spent doesn’t equate to quality – would you send your child to D.C. schools?
Fran Reed, a “new kid on the block” (having been here only 3 years) suggested ending the “gotta spend it all” mentality of government.

In his closing comments, Pollitt told those remaining that the county had been deemed efficient in previous studies but perhaps (if the money could be found) it was time for another study. He was considering appointing a volunteer group to determine the scope of that work. He also pointed out that the county has a speaker’s bureau to help answer some of the questions about county operations and spoke about creating two committees to serve as brain trusts – the Council of Economic Advisors and the Debt Affordability Study.

Mike Brewington made the point that our agriculture industry needs to prosper in order for the county to do so.

One comment I have about the process as a whole, though, is that it’s incomplete. While the county is projecting revenues of $108.5 million for FY2011, this only includes money raised locally. As I understand it, the TOTAL budget for the Board of Education dwarfs the county’s overall budget, but that’s not something we were made aware of in this meeting. State and federal funding to the county wasn’t really discussed except in passing.

But if we’re interested in discussing the entire financial situation these are numbers we need. One thing I noted when I said my piece is that there are a number of unfunded mandates and strings in our budget which we’re not aware of. Perhaps a better way of stating this is that when we take the federal or state grant there are always some restrictions on how we spend it, but these may not necessarily be limited to the subject of the grant. For example, the state of Maryland recently had to pass several new regulations regarding unemployment insurance in order to secure an infusion of funding. Getting a grant for police officers requires a municipality to maintain their employment beyond the length of the federal funding, so in the out years the city or county assumes the burden of paying for the officer’s salary and benefits – money which must be budgeted.

I also noted that it’s not in government’s interest to solve problems – to do so would be to remove the program or agency’s reason for being. If crime was down we would need fewer police officers, or if we figured out how to prevent a special-needs child from becoming so we wouldn’t need those teachers. Perhaps these are poor analogies, but if you have a philosophy that “government exists to do that which we can’t do for ourselves” wouldn’t that make the best interest of government at odds with self-interest? It’s incentive for them to tell us that we can’t do it for ourselves.

We are supposed to have a clear picture of Pollitt’s intent next week when he reveals his version of the FY2011 budget.

Impressive

I’m going to have much more on this tomorrow evening (let’s face it – why put out your best stuff on an evening not known for huge readership) but tonight’s Lincoln Day Dinner here in Wicomico County was quite successful and well-attended.

Even though it’s Easter weekend, we had three statewide candidates make their appearance and a fourth may have only been prevented from coming because of the impending birth of his fourth child. I think that’s pretty good.

Yet with all that excitement statewide, the local front is strangely quiet. Sure, most of the GOP stalwarts will be running again but I’d like to see someone in the County Executive’s chair who is more fiscally prudent. And if we have the same County Executive, let’s have him face a County Council who can override his vetoes with a 5-2 supermajority.

Maybe it’s time to entrust some of these county offices which have been in Democratic hands for a long period of time to the GOP. Certainly there’s something to be said for experience but, despite the wretched attempts at change coming from the White House, it’s not such a bad thing all the time. Sure, these are county positions but no one needs to remain as Register of Wills or Clerk of the Courts for decades on end. Maybe some new blood and new ideas in the office will prove to be the fiscally responsible thing to do.

This can be put another way. Despite the great turnout we had tonight, with over 150 attending, I would expect the TEA Party on April 15th to have at least four times that number. Out of all those people one would think we have a few who would stand up and put their name on the line to serve their public for a few years before returning to the private sector. That’s all I’m asking for.

Personally, I’ve made a promise to myself that I would not run for an office after I turn 50 (and I’m 45 right now.) I understand that elected office isn’t something one should aspire to for a lifetime but many of my opposite number treat the perks of office as their birthright. That’s the attitude we need to have changed and it’s going to take people who wish to sacrifice to effect the change we all seek.

Solutions to our problems

Tonight Wicomico County Councilman Bill McCain hosted a townhall-style meeting designed to solicit solutions to the county’s present and upcoming budget woes. While yesterday’s Daily Times article pointed out that McCain was looking for suggested possible fixes, many of the nearly two dozen speakers had a single message: taxes are too high and they couldn’t afford anymore increases there. “Stay within your budget,” warned resident Kay Gibson.

A number of speakers echoed their personal economic struggles; resident Ed Nelson said it well when he noted, “times are tough for everyone.”

But Bill was blunt: “you will have serious, serious services eliminated in Wicomico County” next year – “what are you willing to give up?” He continued, “we need to do things differently…unfortunately, we have capped ourselves on the revenue side.”

McCain is in somewhat of a unique position, as the FY2011 budget will be the last he’ll have input into – he’s chosen not to seek re-election, maintaining his original plan to serve one term. But he was determined to maintain his home and business here, so it’s obvious McCain is planning to stay involved. Two other council members who would presumably maintain their positions, John Cannon and Sheree Sample-Hughes, were also in attendance.

The county’s Board of Education was also a favorite whipping boy of some. Many speakers advocated the accountability an elected school board would provide.

On that note, all three Council members present were put on the spot by questioner Joe Collins, who wanted to know how they stood on an elected school board. McCain was a firm “no,” citing the “diverse” school board we presently have. Cannon and Sample-Hughes held their cards closer to their chest, with John stating a “70-30” likelihood of support and Sample-Hughes wanting to study the particulars more – she did indicate her district was relatively supportive as was she on a personal level.

While a number of speakers commented on the revenue cap and didn’t want to see it go away, a couple observers pled for “investment.” Mark Cullen, representing the county’s volunteer firefighters, pointed out that the $4 million provided by the county covers less than half of the expenses. Instead, we’re “burning our personnel out doing fundraisers.” (Surely there was no pun intended.)

County resident John Groutt blasted the “simplistic” solutions offered by the number of “TEA Partiers” in the audience and preached “we need to invest in our children.” We also needed to address the issue of sprawl. On the other hand, it was also properly pointed out that areas which tax heavily tend to have difficulty maintaining businesses and jobs.

Most of those commenting were critical of the county’s current spending, but there were a number of good ideas pitched for consideration. Among them were:

Hiring a full-time auditor. The problem is that the county’s charter dictates the auditor be a CPA but the salary may not be sufficient.
Rein in the liquor control board.
Make union negotiations public as they are in Calvert County.
Eliminate the two at-large County Council positions.
Eliminate the County Executive’s Public Information Officer.
Instead of layoffs being the “last resort” they should be the “first resort.”
Replace the revenue cap with a tax rate cap, with exemptions for those on fixed incomes.
Rescind the increase in teacher’s retirement benefits.
Verify that all measures called for in the 2002 Parsons study are being followed.
Selling off any surplus land the county owns (my idea.)
Perhaps collecting some sort of tax on property owned by Salisbury University (also my idea.)

It’s worthy of note that in the last decade Wicomico County went from having the fourth highest property tax rate in the state to the fourth lowest. And if you consider education, public safety, and public works as “core functions” of government, McCain said that we spend 76% of our budget dollars on those items.

There’s no question that severe cuts will be seen when County Executive Rick Pollitt releases his FY2011 budget April 8th. But the dialogue tonight seems to suggest that raising taxes is going to be out of the question for overburdened county residents who will likely see tax increases on the federal and state levels.

Unintended consequences strike again!

Perhaps I’m picking on our county just a little too much – but I wonder if the liability is included in the $1.5 million land price?

This came from Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt and his mouthpiece Jim Fineran:

Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt, Jr., announced today that immediate traffic control procedures will be initiated on the portion of Glen Avenue directly north of the Wicomico Youth & Center by prohibiting vehicular traffic before, during and after major Civic Center events. The action follows two hit and run accidents on March 12th, involving pedestrians crossing Glen Avenue from the old mall parking lot to the Civic Center.

“We can’t delay on taking measures to insure the safety of our Civic Center patrons,” said Pollitt. “Stopping traffic on Glen Avenue is the quickest, cheapest way to make sure that our patrons can cross over to the Civic Center in safety. When we own that parking lot, we shall make improvements and pedestrian safety will be chief among them. We need, however, to do something now.”

The old mall parking lot is not owned by Wicomico County but Civic Center patrons have been using it for overflow parking. Among the upcoming major events scheduled for the arena are Bill Cosby, the annual poodle show, high school and Salisbury University graduations and the Fernando Guerrero boxing match.

Perhaps the best solution to this issue would be to eliminate the problem entirely and permanently close the portion of Glen Avenue in front of the WYCC. (As an added bonus, we could gain some pervious surface back – maybe they’ll count it towards the requirements of new stormwater regulations!) But residents farther east along Glen Avenue may object to a permanent closure.

Another possible solution would be a traffic signal at the corner of Glen Avenue and Civic Avenue, but that costs money too. Instead we’ll pay on a per-use basis for traffic control.

My point is that the county is buying this parcel of land and building the new parking lot despite the issue which has lay dormant for awhile but reared its ugly head again after the two pedestrians were struck. For years people have used the Old Mall parking lot as a shortcut or as overflow parking to the WYCC – I’ve even done it once or twice for the former Beast of the East custom motorcycle show and other events when the main parking lot was used as part of the exhibit area.

No question there’s an issue with the WYCC site – the planners of 60 years ago when the original was built didn’t fathom the extent of parking needed for events such as those held today. It’s been my opinion that the WYCC is nearing the end of its useful lifespan because of this and other issues. Had the county been thinking, a better use for the money spent on acreage for a far-off west side park or other lands bought with Program Open Space money may have been to secure the land adjacent to Perdue Stadium for a future Civic Center – parking already exists and access from any direction is excellent. Instead, they insist on placing lipstick on the pig that’s there now.

So we will now have the confusing spectacle of traffic being redirected and misdirected during selected events (granted, I believe the WYCC already does this during the poodle show.) With the bulk of these events occurring during the evening hours, perhaps the potential for tragedy is lessened for some (the pedestrians) but increased for anyone who needs to direct traffic (county employees.)

Shortsighted solutions begat unintended consequences. It’s a rule we forgot about when we approved the land deal.

In other local news, we learned that Salisbury City Councilman Gary Comegys was diagnosed with cancer. The 2009 mayoral candidate won his current City Council term in 2007, which obviously leads to speculation as to whether he will run again next spring when his term expires. Given his perceived position on the City Council as one of the three “establishment” votes against Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen (Cohen is also up in 2011 as is Council President Louise Smith) the prospect of an open seat may make the next year of local politics even more interesting.

But there are things more important than politics for all of us, and hopefully Comegys can make a full recovery and choose the political path he wishes to take free of any ill effects.

A prelude to April

This is actually going to be about the Americans for Prosperity meeting last night, which I was told would be a planning meeting for next month’s Tax Day TEA Party here in Salisbury. But apparently much of the event has been planned – however, what I didn’t know is that Ocean City will have one as well. More on that later, though.

To open the meeting, AFP Wicomico co-chair Julie Brewington had a monologue where she noted the Obamacare bill was “a finger poked in the face of the people” and created “a nation divided (which was) a very sad thing.” But rather than being depressed, she was “more energized than ever.”

To her, people were “fairly ignorant” on the contents of the Obamacare bill, and because of the lack of transparency, “we must change who represents us” here in Maryland.

At that point, we received some key dates.

On March 31st there will be a town hall meeting sponsored by Wicomico County Councilman Bill McCain regarding the revenue cap. McCain would prefer to see it repealed and allow the county to raise our property taxes through the roof (since property values are so far down the millage rate will probably increase regardless) but wants public input. I’m sure we’ll give it to him. The sobfest will be held in the Danang Room at the Wicomico County Youth and Civic Center beginning at 7 p.m.

Five days later sanity returns to the Danang Room as state Republican Chair Audrey Scott hosts a town hall meeting of her own, April 5th at 6:30 p.m. Brewington noted that the Republicans were “begging” for TEA Party input and personally I welcome them into the fold. (Otherwise there wouldn’t be any GOP Central Committee people attending AFP meetings, although the College Republicans also meet that night so that may account for one or two others.)

On April 6th the Wicomico County Council has its quarterly night meeting, where we were urged by AFP member Matt Trenka to “pack the house” and take advantage of the public comments. When pressed, County Councilman John Cannon (who was in attendance) said he supported the idea and noted it’s one of the few items brought back to the Council’s attention after a decision was made – the quarterly meetings were a compromise measure. The current schedule was “terribly confusing,” said Cannon, and I imagine this may be a side issue for this year’s election.

Finally, the Tax Day TEA Party will be held April 15th (naturally.) That was the last subject we covered, so I’ll get to that shortly.

G.A. Harrison (of Delmarva Dealings fame) next spoke on the prospects of an elected school board. He noted that only 6 of Maryland’s 24 school districts (each county and Baltimore City) still had appointed boards of education, and only Caroline and Wicomico counties had that method here on the Eastern Shore. To get an elected board, we would have to have a non-binding referendum and there were two methods of achieving this:

through the approval of County Council, or;
via petition drive, with the signatures of 10% of county voters in the last election for Governor. For Wicomico County, this would mean we have to gather 2,821 valid signatures. The time is tight for this petition though: the language needs to be filed by May 1, with 1/3 of the signatures in by May 31 and the remainder by June 30.

Obviously the easier route is County Council, and recently the Republican Central Committee sent a letter to the County Council expressing our support (a letter I was pleased to sign.) Harrison noted that the Democrats may be on board as well, but for differing reasons – the teacher’s union would certainly try to influence the school board election.

State AFP head Dave Schwartz was also in attendance, and he spoke at some length about the recent fight against Obamacare. He told us that, “the American people are with us” and had it not been for all of our efforts this would have been done last June. After the 2008 elections the only question was when Democrats would pull the trigger, noted Schwartz. But Americans got to look at how things work in Washington, D.C. and they don’t like it – a CBS News poll released this week revealed 62% want Republicans to keep fighting this bill!

While the media wants to paint this as an “accomplishment,” continued Schwartz, it was only an accomplishment in the sense of getting a third mortgage when you had difficulty paying for the first two.

The next steps in our fight were:

To “win the aftermath” by explaining the bill’s pitfalls (of which there are many) better than the other side explains the supposed benefits. After all, $500 billion in new taxes, $500 billion in Medicare cuts, and a “fast-forward” to single-payer only benefit the government.
Signing the petition at NOvemberiscoming.com. (As I write this 343,138 have.)
Attend the Tax Day TEA Party here – 600 did last year and we want double this year!
Call and get the Health Care Freedom Act passed here in Maryland. The bill lost in committee 6-5 but we are asking two Democrats to reconsider.

Schwartz concluded by citing an AMA study which suggested that a high percentage of older doctors (over 50) will simply choose to retire as early as possible once Obamacare takes full effect, leaving fewer providers to care for an increasing number of insured patients who expect free medical service.

Two other quick pieces of information we received were that the Leadership Institute candidate school originally scheduled for Cambridge this weekend was cancelled, but there were still openings up in Dover. Also, the Worcester County AFP chapter asked for donations to purchase the use of a billboard along U.S. 50 to promote a message.

Finally, the Tax Day TEA Parties.

In Salisbury, the TEA Party goes on Thursday, April 15th from 3 to 7 p.m. About the only desired thing missing from the planning is a band, but everything else seems to be going as planned (aside from hoping for better weather, of course.) The venue remains the front lawn of the Government Office Building downtown on Division Street.

This year, Ocean City joins in on the fun! On Saturday, April 17 from noon to 3 p.m. theirs will be held in the plaza which hosts Trader Lee’s on the southwest corner of U.S. 50 and Maryland Route 611.

In either case, I encourage my readers to attend and they can register at this website. It looks like AFP has taken the lead in planning and promoting these events in Maryland, although each individual one is different.

Their next meeting will be April 28th at Brew River in Salisbury. Be there early to grab a seat because we had over 70 in a room set up originally for 50.

Pollitt warms up the local campaign

You wouldn’t expect Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt to be a “one-and-done” termer if he could help it, so this news is not unexpected. From Progressive Delmarva:

Rick Pollitt will kick off his re-election effort to return as Wicomico County Executive with a fundraising dinner this Saturday.

The beef and dumplings dinner will cost $30 a ticket at the Pittsville Fire Hall from 5 p.m.- 8 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by Mat Creamer. Tickets are available at the door.

Rick has started a Facebook page, a Twitter profile, and a website with donations accepted by PayPal.

That scant description by “Duck Around” (who I presume is one of Pollitt’s 80 or so Facebook fans, since two have the surname “Duck”) is pretty much the whole post, and there’s little to Pollitt’s website yet either. It’s a shame, because I’d love to see what Rick thinks are the issues facing Wicomico County and what he’s done to recommend a second term.

However, if any Republicans are seeking the seat they are keeping their cards close to the vest. (Then again, Pollitt was first to file in 2006 and it was right about this time on the calendar.) Conventional wisdom holds that the leading contenders to make such an announcement would be County Councilmen John Cannon or Joe Holloway, but as I recall none of the three main GOP contenders last time came from an elected background (nor did Pollitt, as it turns out.) We could see a local business leader step into the ring once again, on either side.

Depending on your perspective, it’s either fortunate or unfortunate that I’ve been through this rodeo once before and my archives go back beyond the 2006 election. Here’s some golden oldies where Pollitt spoke during that campaign, like the NAACP forum, the Pittsville forum, and his response to my analysis. As an added bonus, I have an overview of the 2006 CE race and its key issues, and how he did his initial budget. Maybe if he’d said “no” a little more during the fat times the lean times would have been easier to deal with – in other words, a little “proven leadership” would have gone a long way.

But we can change the leader, and perhaps this November is a good time to do so. (Or even September – wonder if Tom Taylor will run again?)

Wicomico County can do better. Being first to hold the County Executive’s seat is certainly an honor but it’s not a license to remain there for life.

Ideas for the right direction

On Thursday the BrinkleyPipkin budget reduction act (in Maryland that’s SB1004, Budget Reconciliation and Balancing Act) had its hearing. When I got the release on this hearing this was the part which jumped out at me:

The Brinkley-Pipkin budget reduction act had a hearing before the Senate Budget and Tax Committee today. By taking significant steps to further reduce spending in this year’s budget process, the Brinkley-Pipkin plan buys additional time to constrain spending to the existing available revenues without the need to raise taxes.

A key feature of the plan is the elimination of built-in statutory increases in state programs. This feature and an additional $75 million in spending constraint over the next three years would allow current revenues to “catch-up” with spending, thereby bringing ongoing spending and revenues into balance.

Many lobbyists and county officials testified today against additional cuts to state spending. Representatives of unions also opposed the Brinkley-Pipkin plan of additional cutbacks including the removal prevailing wage from state projects. The majority of citizens and taxpayers who testified supported all efforts to cut back government overspending. (Emphasis mine.)

So once again we have the government and big-government interests (i.e. the lobbyists) vs. the people. The information I was provided also had a chart showing the difference between our current budget path (which will certainly lead to higher taxes) and the Brinkley-Pipkin projections.

In theory, at least, the Republicans’ proposal not only balances the budget but creates a small surplus.

Obviously the counties were there to argue that the budget would be balanced on their backs and perhaps they have a point. But this should also lead the local governments into an effort to prioritize what services they wish to deliver, with the public being involved by determining how much they want to pay. For example, it would fan the flames of the ongoing debate here in Wicomico County regarding the revenue cap the county currently employs.

Government cannot co-exist with a free society as a cure-all. Every dollar taken out of your pocket to pay for services they wish to deliver is a dollar that you cannot use as you wish, despite the fact it was freely given to you. (In more and more cases, however, that dollar was given to you by the same government who wishes to take it away.)

It’s way beyond time to consider that role government has to play and amend it accordingly. Maybe not all of the cuts in the Brinkley-Pipkin proposal are wise, but they can begin this vital discussion of the role our state government plays in our lives.

The case for an elected school board

Tomorrow the Wicomico County Council discusses the FY2011 county budget (as part of legislative session 2010-05.) Obviously a significant chunk of that budget will go to the county’s education funding and County Executive Richard Pollitt conceded “there’s no way” that Wicomico County will meet the state Maintenance of Effort requirements next year. It’s beyond questioning that money is going to be a contentious issue for those who were elected to take care of the budget.

However, the Wicomico County Board of Education (WCBOE) has come under some withering fire lately regarding the travel budget allotted to school personnel. Spearheaded by County Councilman Joe Holloway, this effort found the taxpayers were occasionally footing the bill for everything from meals at Hooters and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse to the morning coffee at Wawa. While most of the expenditures were on the up-and-up, the attitude reflected by those who abused the process (and paid for the previously-charged expenditures out of their own pocket once it was learned Holloway was on the case) was that of an entitlement mentality.

As mentioned before on my website, the present FY2010 budget has been revised, but in essence only 54% of the budget was at stake – the 46% belonging to the WCBOE was practically untouchable due to state mandates.

It is my belief – a belief shared by a growing number of people – that Wicomico County is not well served by having an appointed school board in charge of holding the schools accountable to the taxpayers. All but a handful of Maryland counties have gone to an elected school board, and I think its long past time to adopt the same here.

As the system stands now, the seven appointed members of the WCBOE come into office via a process rife with the prospect of patronage. Until a change is made, there will always be at least three Republicans and three Democrats on the board, with the pivotal seventh vote awarded to the party whose candidate won the last race for governor. Thus, the first Democratic vacancy which occurred after Bob Ehrlich was sworn in back in 2003 was filled by a Republican and the first GOP vacancy after Martin O’Malley came into office in 2007 was filled by a Democrat. To be more proper, vacancies were filled from a list provided by the local Central Committee of the respective party (so as a member of the Central Committee I had influence on any board member replacing Republicans, except the first GOP vacancy became a Democrat seat.)

If you look at things on that level, it’s clear that Wicomico County may have preferred a 4-3 GOP split based on who they selected as governor since Bob Ehrlich carried Wicomico handily. But the decision was taken out of their hands based on the statewide vote.

While I take my job seriously as a member of the Central Committee, it seems to me that the input of selecting those who are responsible for running our schools should be at a much higher level than a seven- or nine-member body. And looking at things from a strictly partisan basis I understand there’s a risk the voters could select an even more partisan mix of 5-2 or 6-1 Democrats based on voter registration numbers. (While it’s likely the BOE would be a “non-partisan” race, certainly the Democrats will be recommending a slate of candidates as would the GOP.) Yet this also provides an opportunity for those who are politically unaffiliated to have a greater say in affairs as well.

People who are passionate about education tend to be the ones who want to see more local control of their schools. They join the PTA or volunteer in the classroom in order to do their part for the school community.

But the process as it stands now doesn’t necessarily reward these attributes. The folks in Annapolis don’t have much of a body of work to judge would-be BOE members on – usually it’s just a curriculum vitae and application. An electoral system could be set up to allow district representation, giving a person who’s known to the parents of a particular school a better opportunity to serve at a higher level.

In the end, though, it comes down to accountability. The system we have now doesn’t provide for enough, and moving to an elected school board would give the people of Wicomico County the final say on just how a board member is doing.

We can get the process started with leadership on County Council. They can pass a measure to put a referendum on the ballot this fall showing the amount of support there is for an elected school board. Once that passes (as I’m confident it would) then the General Assembly could act accordingly and pass the law allowing BOE elections to occur beginning with the next general election in 2012.

That’s the easy road. If County Council refuses to act, the ballot measure would have to be achieved via petition and getting signatures is a time-consuming process. We could also be at the mercy of outside events, as a 2001 petition drive was shelved in the wake of 9-11.

Joe Holloway is already on record as supporting an elected school board, so I call on his fellow Republicans to lead the way and allow thoughtful Democrats to follow behind if a veto override is needed. Once we get this on the ballot, at that point we can work on just how the transition would be achieved, the question of staggering board members’ terms, and the like. That’s actually fairly easy since we have a number of counties to view as models.

The hard part is getting there, so I encourage the County Council to start the process soon.

Wicomico Lincoln Day Dinner rescheduled

After lengthy negotiations with the former Governor’s staff, Governor Ehrlich will be speaking at our rescheduled Wicomico County Lincoln Day Dinner on Saturday, April 3rd at Salisbury University. I’d presume the time remains the same.

With the rumor brewing that the state’s former chief executive will finally announce his candidacy on Maryland Day (March 25th) this may be part of an extended initial campaign swing by Ehrlich. Other local and state GOP candidates will also get a chance to briefly introduce themselves to the GOP partisans.

Those who made reservations for the snowed-out February 6th event are encouraged to attend the rescheduled event. Details will follow for those who cannot make the new date.