Sign up for our newsletters    

Sign up for our newsletters   

Baltimore City Paper home page.

Hear it First: “Stephanie (you don’t have to put on the red ink)”

February 11, 2013
By

Mayor SRB is set to give her “State of the City” address today, portending big changes in taxation and city pensions.

Last week, to prepare the ground, she released a consultant’s report claiming the city faces a $3 billion deficit (mostly infrastructure and pension funding gaps) in the next decade. This is a standard tactic politicians use when they mean to privatize public services, cut budgets, etc.

Saying “we can’t afford it” precludes any discussion about whether a given expense–police eligible for full pensions after 20 years of service, say–is good public policy or not.

Meanwhile, the consultant’s projections are squishy–not only because all 10-year budget projections are squishy, but also because Baltimore City does not do audits like other cities: a fact that appears to please the mayor.

We found it all pretty inspirational. OK, maybe “inspirational” is not the right word….

  • Chris Delaporte

    Ed:

    You are spot on with your central message here: how can the Mayor and Mr. Black, our city Finance Director, make any declamations, be they forecasts, plans, proposals, strategies, projects-of-magnitudes, schemes to attract families, projected income and expense scenarios over ten years, funds required from the state, projected deficits/surpluses, how to best partner with the state in the various undertakings, making certain to lock in and protect our bond rating— and whatever else is on the table as a component of a ten year financial plan, packaged up nicely with assurances that “the status quo is unacceptable”, and that “truth is the first step in any real solution”—without initiating the most obvious, glaring reform needed: audit the city’s 55 agencies, boards, commissions and, departments, rigorously, in depth, at least on a two year cycle and make those audits available to the public so they understand the facts (the truth) about where every penny of their tax money goes and for what?

    Any reader who is by chance about this astounding fact—that Baltimore has not audited its departments in as “long as anyone can remember”—sorry, regretfully, ’tis true: that’s right Baltimore has not audited its departments in all of these many years.

    Logically, regretfully,everyone who keeps a bank account understands the “financials” (statement and supporting documents (cheques, etc.) are the fiduciary documents (contract, if you will) between the bank and the customer.

    Without the monthly statement, the bank customer would be without a fiscal compass.

    That is the current situation in Baltimore—without fiscal compass.

    Sooner than later the city employee unions and ordinary citizens are going to ask the Comptroller and the Mayor and Mr. Black, where are the underlying facts that support your assertions, claims and justifications for a ten year financial plan?

    Chris T. Delaporte
    The Park Advocate

  • Jet

    Mayor Rawlings-Blake, thank you for trying to put the city on a path to renewed prosperity. Ignore the haters above! They bear no responsibility, have no plan, and are good for nothing but smear tactics.

  • Jet

    The guy below has a plan: screw the city and it’s people, let’s spend us some money we don’t have on parks!

  • http://www.facebook.com/william.bond.10 William Bond

    The City has irresponsible management, a fact based assessment. Jet, get off the horse of ‘the people’ being screwed. The majority of the City is unemployed and pays no taxes. The political elite panders to that majority. See a problem with that? Once you are done whining about entitlements — you can only suck a carcass for so long until even buzzards will go hungry — what’s the plan for growth? And throw ‘development’ out the window, doesn’t work. The only way to grow Baltimore is to give tax breaks to businesses and corporations to move here. Not one other way will even make a dent.

  • Jet

    It surprises you that the mayor caters to the majority of it’s residents? Isn’t that the natural peoduct of democracy/majority rule?

  • http://www.facebook.com/william.bond.10 William Bond

    We neither have democracy in this country (we are a republic) nor do we have majority rule, only the perception, while pols like your Dixons and SRBs get fatter and fatter. You may want to turn the ‘after jets’ on in your brain and realize that without income, your minority/majority rule/ supposed ruling class will be looking at a burned out mess which will make present day Detroit look like the Four Seasons Hotel very soon.

    I always wonder what people like ‘you’ really think the solution is besides confiscating the property of people who have any? Well…?

  • Jet

    Just to declare that development doesn’t work, doesn’t make it true. But I agree with tax breaks as incentives, along with development.

  • Jet

    I have nothing against audits either. To not audit is to continue obscuring where the money is going.

  • Jet

    The guy above, now.

  • http://www.facebook.com/william.bond.10 William Bond

    Jet, don’t really know what you are sayin’… Maybe complete sentences and putting your comment(s) in the right place might help.

    Development doesn’t work in Balto because the developers are really just in the political kick-back business.

    Tax incentives work when the incentivee is a manufacturer or other labor employing entity who is going to hire/train/etc. people who will then pay taxes and support the city. I.e., Why does South Carolina and Alabama get airplane and car plants — because they give incentives and because those states are not crippled by unions whose objects fail to understand supply and demand.

    Maryland could have all those things if the rhetoric and failed ideology would desist and reality would prevail.

  • Jet

    I agree that it is confusing – the comments don’t stay in sequence.

  • Jet

    I generally agree with you Mr. Bond. I am critical of the clowns in the video and the Parks Advocate for the reasons stated. Regarding development, it is also important. Kickbacks are illegal, are you implying that the Mayor takes kickbacks? Cite your evidence. At least the Mayor is trying to be fiscally responsible, or so it appears.

  • Jet

    Show me where I said that?

  • Jet

    Here I am referring to the Parks Advocate.

  • http://www.facebook.com/william.bond.10 William Bond

    I refer you to the Dixon trial. And, it is silly to think Maryland politics iss anything but dirty. Don’t need SRB’s signed confession…

    Developers hire out of state-city-county peeps mostly. Construction is too transient, too undependable. What we need are factories and businesses which offer first level, sustainable employment. People who want to make a profit building things don’t need free money, but businesses investing in providing long term jobs do.

  • Chris Delaporte

    My good man, my e-mail is theparkadvocate@gmail.com; drop me a note and we can jib/jab a bit…

    Chris T. Delaporte
    The Park Advocate

  • Pingback: szrctgfyfrseshgjgyftre

  • Pingback: mimnunybtvrdcdxeh

  • Pingback: uhnuybytcrdxexcyhbiknub

  • Pingback: bookmarking list

  • Pingback: doctors note

  • Pingback: types of beer posters

  • Pingback: pasang iklan

  • Pingback: Typing Test

  • Pingback: Casino

  • Pingback: Moe kash

  • Pingback: click here

  • Pingback: Download Autocad 2014

  • Pingback: car loans bad credit

  • Pingback: work from home

  • Pingback: hypalon rubber sheet

  • Pingback: Jasa SEO

  • Pingback: silicone sheet

  • Pingback: free credit report instant

  • Pingback: dating site

  • Pingback: Buy backlinks

  • Pingback: William Ryan Woods Mugshot

  • Pingback: abortion clinic coral springs

  • Pingback: Video Production UK

  • Pingback: dublin airport car rentals

  • Pingback: Mens Shoes

  • Pingback: The Crew

  • Pingback: Handyvertraege Vergleich

  • Pingback: DACHPLATTEN FENSTER GARTEN ZAUN

  • Pingback: visit us here

  • Pingback: seo services

  • Pingback: angel readings

  • Pingback: Nebenh�hlenchirurgie

  • Pingback: work at home customer service

  • Pingback: green label network

  • Pingback: crazy news

  • Pingback: banana republic credit card

  • Pingback: HP Officejet 4500

  • Pingback: https://twitter.com/nursenaksel

  • Pingback: materace piankowe

  • Pingback: wicked lasers

  • Pingback: I thought about this

  • Pingback: side effects of garcinia cambogia

  • Pingback: wicked lasers

  • Pingback: video background

  • Pingback: grants for women

  • Pingback: Buy Google Circles

  • Pingback: ts

  • Pingback: klonopinx

  • Pingback: Yelp! ripping small business advertisers off, new report click here.

  • Pingback: I loved this

  • Pingback: bouteille personnalisee

  • Pingback: state auto insurance

  • Pingback: buy twitter followers cheap

  • Pingback: buy twitter followers cheap

  • Pingback: ppi claims on mortgages

  • Pingback: buy twitter followers cheap

  • Pingback: cheap nissan lpg melbourne

  • Pingback: Get ranked in Page 1 VERY FAST : Guaranteed