To say that Commissioner Brady, Clark, and Hunt reduced property taxes is disingenuous. These Commissioners voted consistently to maintain the tax rate of .64 for the tax years 2008, 09, and 10 at the same time our property assessment values were going up. Long after the real estate bubble had broken. It was Commissioner duPont (Town Treasurer) who brought forth the initiative to pay off the debt service street bond, and proposed a tax decrease from .64 to .52 for the tax year 2011. Commissioner Clark using her own mathematics countered with a .58 rate, with Commissioners Brady and Hunt following along, ignoring the recommendation of the Town Treasurer.
For the tax year 2012 the Town Treasurer recommendation a mile rate of .50 and again these three Commissioners choose to set a higher rate, this time .52. (Wonder where they got that number?) These incumbents have consistently maintained higher tax rates then recommended in every area.
Since being elected in 2010 it is Commissioner duPont who has been the driving force for reducing cost. Prior to the tax year 2011 Town revenues went up every year, and these three incumbent found ways to spend it. Just voting for an initiative does not make it your idea. We need Commissioners that are proactive and can change with the time. Not Commissioners that fight progress every step of the way and take credit that it is not due.
We have four new candidates competing for the 3 seats opening up; let’s give them a chance.
Virginia I. Albert
St Michaels, MD
Mike says
Yes, please, let us get the facts straight on St. Michaels. But this time let us use all the facts please! First of all, Commissioners Brady and Hunt did not vote on the 2008 budget, it was in place when they took office. The 2009 and 2010 budget cycle were voted on by all three Commissioners that you named, What you didn’t mention was that these budgets were the very first budgets in the town history that required town employees to pay into their benefits programs. Something else that was left out was that these were the first budgets in recent town history that actually cut expenses for things like attorneys fees. These cuts along with paying off long term town debt were what set the stage for the tax cuts in 2011 and the latest cuts this year. Now, for the vote in 2011. The “town treasurer” who is actually Commissioner Tad duPont, also voted for the .58 mil rate in 2011. Only one Commissioner did not vote for the budget that finally lowered our town taxes and that was Commissioner A. Michael Vlahovich. This year all the Commissioners voted for the .52 mil rate. Understanding where the numbers come from requires that you attend a number of open meetings and are there for their entirety. While it is true that Commissioner duPont did first say that he wanted a .50 mil rate, that was well before any capital projects were discussed. So, when those projects and other spending that Commissioner duPont also voted to authorize it was obvious to everyone that .50 was not going to work but that .52 was! We still do no run a deficit budget in St. Michaels. And those, I believe, are all the facts and nothing but the facts.
Marian Brown says
Who is “Mike says” I thought all email or letters to the editor had to have a full name and address. Is “Mike says” a town resident or town tax payer? Is he Donna’s voice? Did the voters vote for “Mike says” or for Donna. The person who gives out confidential or at least private business owners tax information.. I am tired of the negative from these two. I look forward to a positive new town.
Paula Vlahovich says
Just for the record, the reasons Commissioner A. Michael Vlahovich chose not to approve the FY 2012 budget was because he did not agree with the way his fellow Commissioners proceeded with regard to charitable giving–a policy which was changed for FY 2013. He also objected to the paving of the police parking lot, which Ms Hunt felt was necessary for our police force to be able to keep their shoes shiny due to dust in the lot. Commissioner Vlahovich felt that it was a nonessential expenditure of taxpayer dollars. It’s pretty clear that “Mike says” is Ms Hunt’s boyfriend, Mike Estrella. He does not live in St Michaels, he does not pay town taxes, and he is not able to vote. There are plenty of people named Mike in this town, many of whom can to vote. Perhaps Ms Hunt could locate one of the Mikes who is qualified to vote to write her comments of support.