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

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

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!

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

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

The guy above, now.

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

Show me where I said that?

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.