I am thinking fiscally responsible this election season.
Every 2 years, our local government asks us to approve bond bills, where we sell municipal bonds to Wall Street investors for infrastructure improvements. Have you ever asked yourself: what happened to the prior bond bills that we approved; how much money was raised; at what interest rate are we repaying the bonds previously sold; have any of the prior bonds been paid back; if not, how much do we still owe; what (itemized) specific infrastructure improvements were made with the prior bonds; and what specific infrastructure improvements are you planning to make if we approve the current bond bills?
These bond bills (A-C, E-F) warrant serious fiscal scrutiny. Bond bills have no affect on operational costs, only capital improvements. So while I would love to see newer, improved facilities, I want to see better operational improvements in our County. I am very indifferent about the library and community college facilities (A & C) as I prefer operational improvements so I'm voting NO to save tax $$.
I'm voting NO on Question F, County Buildings, because I don't want to move from Upper Marlboro our County Administration Building that we own out right to Largo and have to enter into long-term leases of buildings we don't own. In fact, many offices (DPIE, DER, Technology) need to move back to Upper Marlboro to save our tax $$. These long-term leases are costly and simply political back to developers like The Michaels Company for their campaign contributions to the current administration.
I devoted an entire separate email as to why I'm voting NO on Question D. It doesn't make sound financial sense.
I'm more inclined to vote FOR Questions B and E because: (1) the County needs to own its own Fire/EMS stations and stop heavily relying on Volunteer Fire Departments; and (2) the County has too many roads, bridges, etc. that need repair. We need to replenish our emergency funds that was used in the last 2 huge snow storms. We cannot afford to dip into the emergency fund again and risk losing our AAA bond rating, but we need to be prepared for snow emergencies (glad to see the snow summit planning in action).
I'm voting NO on Question G because the County Executive and County Council need to be able to work out their differences. Again, are we using tax $$ to have attorneys/firms on retainer (very costly), or use them only on a case-by-case basis (still costly)? If there is a conflict, couldn't we get an opinion from the State's Attorney General who has no interest in County politics?
We need to be better stewards of tax dollars. Therefore, I am personally voting NO on most, if not all of the Questions on the ballot, and ask you to join me in voting the same.
Finally, Question 1 is purely political and partisan. It cuts both ways, and although we're a primarily Democratic-controlled state, residents really just want the best person in office despite party affiliation. This question prevents Governor Hogan from selecting a Republican to replace the Attorney General or Comptroller if they vacate their office for any reason. If you are a party loyalist, vote for Question 1; if not, vote against it.
Please share this email with your neighbors, church members, social circles, etc. Thank you.
