The following letter was received from the office of Del. Rick Impallaria:
Harford County Tea Party – Tuesday, May 19, 2009, 6 pm
On Tuesday, May 19, at 7 pm the Harford County Council will be discussing the County Executive’s proposed budget. This is the time when citizens can come and make comments about the budget.
In connection with this, a Tea Party has been scheduled for 6 pm at the County Council Building, 212 S. Bond St., Bel Air. People should arrive 5:30-6:00 with their protest signs. This is a high traffic area and will be very visible to passers-by. This is also an opportunity to bring your children to get an early lesson in participating in our free speech rights of protest.
Rick Impallaria
Delegate, District 7
rick.impallaria@house.state.md.us
I don’t understand, what exactly are you protesting? The new budget is slashed by nearly 70 million over last year, and even at index and inflation adjustments, is the lowest it has been in almost 25 years.
The State is passing on costs that the county has never before had to bear. The board of education was neither raised nor cut, but still consumes 60% of the budget. Why is it that everyone in the county except the board of ed must do Ramen noodles and furloughs this year even though they don’t consume as much of the budget COMBINED as the board of ed does?
Oh wait, I know, because as soon as they think they might have to pitch in like everyone else-they whine about how they are the most important people in society and must retain their pay, benefits, and receive regular increases regardless of performance.
Last time I checked, Maryland schools ranked worst in the entire country and the Thornton plan was topping 1.7 billion (which interestingly enough coincides with the “budget shortfall” amount for the State last year.) Where does that money go? Perry Hall High School is still in trailers on the lawn and has been for 20 years.
Meanwhile, plans are being talked about to close libraries on Sundays, early on weeknights, maybe even cut out park services. Delegate Impallaria seems to be ok with cutting even further. When will it stop? Will it stop when I can’t flush my toilet and have it go somewhere? Will it stop when I have to collect rainwater to drink? Maybe it will stop when health and environmental programs go away too and we can all die early.
Delegate Impallaria is a disgrace to the party. He’s building on perceived success with the Tea party and now is politically grand-standing for re-election. District 7 isn’t even primarily Harford County anyway, go back to Baltimore. I suspect he does this here because it won’t work in Baltimore County.
As a member of the economic matters committee since 2003, surely he knows better than this, and he’s aware of the real problems and issues with local spending. I find it impossible to believe that he has confused local and Federal spending, two concepts with very little in common.
So I ask again, which is it? Is the Delegate simply show-boating, or is he really unfit and ignorant of the mechanics behind local government?
If Delegate Impallaria’s protest has spelled out specifics and figures, it might have weight. This vague protesting is counter-productive at a time when a socialist sits in the White House and gets a rubber stamp in both houses of Congress.
Congratulations Mr Impallaria, with each new day you take ignorant actions to further regionalize what was once a proud and strong party.
Doug,
You hit the nail on the head in terms of the Board of Education. They need to get cut. This Taxed Enough Already party is directed at the County Executive choosing not to adopt the Constant Yield rate set by the State of Maryland.
Each year, the State sets the Tax rate that would result in the same level of revenue as last year. This year, that number is .994. This means that Craig has chosen to adopt the 1.082 standard tax rate for Harford County.
In collaboration with the higher assessed values of homes and businesses, this means that our property taxes will increase at a time when the economy is in a very poor way.
The intention with the TEA Party is to make the Council realize that they work for the hard-working citizens of Harford County, and that these same citizens will not stand idly by while they don’t cut any jobs and keep the BOE funding at the same level. We are angry about taxes, but the real issue is spending.
The so-called Republicans that have been elected to fight for smaller government are not doing their job. We are a non-partisan group that is trying to win back our rights and we are willing to fight for responsible government at the City, County, State, and Federal levels.
Check out the website for more information 🙂
http://www.HarfordPropertyTaxProtest.com
What makes you so sure there is no money for Red Pump? The people in charge of the money (State Delegation, County Executive and County Council) all say that the letter that came from the IAC was because the BOE changed their priorities. They say they will get partial funding for the school Harford County goes with first.
What about the money that the taxpayers of this county have to spend for improvements to the intersection of 22 and Schucks Road. The State is supposed to pay for that but money hasn’t come for that yet either and if the school is built there, Harford County would have to shoulder responsibility. Why can’t we wait for the state to put up some of the money especially since they promised all of this money for BRAC.
Doug –
While I applaud CE Craig for cutiing the budget, it is not enough. Why, in the middle of a recession, did CE Craig decide to give county employees a 9% raise? I don’t know about you, but I have not met one person who received a 9% raise in the last 2 years. In budget after budget, CE Craig has decided to side with the employees over the citizens.
I really don’t know much about Del. Impallaria, but I applaud him for siding with the property tax payers on this one. BTW, I live in Harford County and District 7. I really don’t appreciate you telling me I am not from Harford, as I have resdided here for 26 years. As a registered Independent and a fiscal conservative, I view this as something the Republicans should have done years ago. To me, this protest would be expanding the party, not shrinking it. It’s about time somebody is standing up for reducing government growth. I will be attending this event on Tuesday.
Hi Patrick,
Check out the County Executive’s new blog regarding that constant yield rate and why it was done, it caused me to re-think things.
“Samename”,
Show me where county employees got a 9% raise please, I have no idea what you are talking about.
When I put the website up there, I displayed it incorrectly. The correct website is http://www.HarfordPropertyTaxRevolt.com
Upon reading the Blog by Craig, I have found that while there have been several costs pushed onto the county by the State, this is no excuse for solving a problem by throwing money at it.
There are plans to build 3, maybe 4, new schools in the county. These schools will not get state funding until all schools in the county are at full capacity. Ultimately, this means that we need to execute a redistricting plan before there is a need for new schools.
The County Exec has always collected the constant yield rate even in good times. He is just trying to shift blame. He has expanded the number of county employees in his dept and all depts..just take a look at the growth in county personnel costs not to mention all the Ehrlich suits that have jobs through out the administration..there is two million in savings right away…Most of his cuts are to capital projects which he was going to use bond or borrowed money for anyway. Keep on them Delegate Impallaria…
Doug –
Please check out CE Craig’s FY09 budget. All county employees received a 9% raise.
Why are we mad that county employees got a 9% raise? Part of the reason the economy is so bad is because prices of everything has gone up. Food, gas, housing, utilities, milk- you name it, the price has gone up. Yet pay has been stagnant for years. Pay needs to increase with the price of life otherwise people start living on credit blah blah blah, the economy looks like it does now.
The fact that the County is setting the example for other organizations should be lauded. I am glad that they feel it is important to pay their employees well- every organization should feel that way, and maybe would we would find ourselves with higher production and happier employees. Good for them.
And no, I don’t work for the County and I don’t really know anyone who does.
Somebody, the reason we are upset is because a 9% raise is not a “Cost of Living Adjustment.”
If a company decides to increase pay for performance, that’s great. If the county increases pay because of performance, that’s great too. However, when wages are increased faster than inflation, that makes me mad. Inflation last year was .1%. One Tenth of one percent.
Anyway, think of it like we are shareholders. I have a stake in the county, so I want them to maximize the return on my money. If they get results, they get a raise. If they don’t, they should be able to be fired or have their pay at least stagnate.
Especially when the rest of the WORLD is facing lower wages.
Patrick,
You should get a job with the County. Then you could fix all the problems and enjoy the 9% raise.
That’s freakin brillant! Problem solved. Next…
somebody,
You have failed to grasp the reality of a contracting economy. Private sector employers are eliminating jobs, cutting pay (i personally had to take an 8% pay cut and no I do not work on commission) and still struggling to stay afloat. These losses in the private sector reduce tax revenues. Now is the time for the private sector to suck it up and cut their budgets as well to cope with lost tax revenue. In the real world this means eliminating positions, cutting pay and benefits and eliminating unnecessary spending.
Just because the government employs men and women with guns and jail cells doesn’t mean they can hold the citizens hostage when they want money. Revolutions have started this way.
My previous post should have read as below.
……Now is the time for the [public] sector to suck it up …..
Sorry for any confusion
The revolution already began…. or did you miss election night?
The change we were promised was responsible government.. All of the “change” I have seen thus far is contrary to responsible.