Commissioners must stay united

Editor,

I read the article in the Aug. 6 Bayside Gazette, “Bertino give-back plan fails” and it concerns me. I learn what is going on in county government only by reading the newspapers. The comment from Commissioner Mitrecic about bankrupting the county [to liquidate the county’s $15.2 million budget stabilization fund], caught my attention. I seem to remember that same commissioner, along with the majority, voting to spend $17 million, on a piece of land for a sports complex.

• And this was before engineering and business case analyses were completed.
• And who determined that the fair market value of that property was $17 million?
• This purchase decision followed that same majority’s approval of funding to Snow Hill, to purchase an un-seaworthy paddle wheel boat. At least the ship’s name was partially correct: The Black Eye.
• This came at the time when the financial impacts of the Blueprint for Education were yet to be determined.

Bottom Line:  It is my perception that by conserving that $17 million [albeit through a referendum vote], the county was in a strong position to respond to the yet-to-be-determined financial impacts of the Blueprint.   This reflected the mature answer to the question, “Is it a want or a need?”  Sound school budgets are a “need.”  A sports complex and the paddle wheel boat are “wants.”

The demonstrated decision making skills of those majority commissioners disappoint me greatly.  As a former Aviation Program R & D Director with the Army, and then Program Manager with the Navy, I’d be sent packing, if I asked either Service’s leaders or DoD for funds, with no substantive analyses or planning & implementation milestones.  If it weren’t for Commissioners Bertino and Bunting, then the county would be spending on poorly researched projects – USING MY TAX DOLLARS.   That is wrong, and I expect better of all commissioners.

The article only touched on the reason for this Budget Stabilization Fund, which started in 2007-2008. What was the intent and has it outlived that intent?  It seems so.  Too many government plans take on an enduring life of their own.  I commend Commissioner Bertino for bringing this issue to the forefront.   It appears to me that it is another Reserve Fund.

• Perhaps it should be rolled into that account.
• If it is liquidated, I agree with Commissioner Mitrecic, that it could be used to more broadly benefit those that paid into it.
• But thanks to Commissioner Bertino, that topic is on the table, and in public view.

Commissioner Mitrecic’s other comment, “I’ll guarantee you this: Anybody who votes for this, I will do everything I can to make sure their district gets zero moving forward.” Oh really?

Stop sounding like an ignorant thug and serve all county residents and taxpayers fairly and equally. We need all commissioners to stay united and strong, focusing our collective energies toward Annapolis.

Craig Tallman
Berlin