A second public dialogue meeting on the Salisbury Safe Streets anti-crime legislation package is set for Tuesday, October 12, 6:30 p.m., in the training room of Fire Station 16 Headquarters on Cypress Street, Salisbury City Council Members Debbie Campbell and Terry Cohen announced today.
After a packed-house public meeting on the proposals was held September 15 in council chambers downtown, the two officials chose a site with more seating capacity and accessibility to the Westside, with a different week night to accommodate additional members of the public.
“In the wake of this week’s shooting spree, it is vital that we keep public engagement moving forward on these and related issues,” Cohen said. “Some of this legislation disappeared four years ago, and our police officers are furloughed while lesser priorities are funded. The public has a key role in overcoming these impasses.”
“Our previous meeting showed that Salisbury can have a productive dialogue about tough issues,” Campbell stated. “We received input and questions from a variety of stakeholders, so this meeting on October 12 will give us an opportunity to address those matters and allow others to weigh in when they couldn’t due to the size of the crowd.”
As reported in the Daily Times, local landlords dominated the first meeting. A show of hands among the landlords, tenants, homeowners and students in attendance indicated that landlords as a whole opposed the package in its entirety, while most city residents either supported the entire package or supported it in part.
Campbell and Cohen said they would soon release details of the format for this meeting to ensure that the process takes a forward direction and the public benefits from accurate information. In the meantime, they again encouraged the public to read the actual text of the anti-crime proposals, which address one segment of crime reduction through better housing practices and property management.
The legislation can be found under the link “Neighborhood Legislation Pkg” on the city website homepage at left, www.ci.salisbury.md.us, and on the website the two council members share, www.OnYourSideSBY.blogspot.com. Hard copies can be obtained by calling the city clerk’s office at 410-548-3140.
A three-hour audio recording of the first public dialogue meeting is available for free download or online listening from Campbell and Cohen’s website, or on CD from the city clerk’s office for $5, which covers the office’s cost of production. For additional questions or comments, contact Debbie Cambpell, 410-860-0893 and debbiescampbell@comcast.net, or Terry Cohen, 410-845-0296 and Terry@TerryCohen.com.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
2010 Safe Streets Neighborhood Legislative Act
By Terry E. Cohen
On Monday, August 2, 2010, Mayor Jim Ireton released a package of legislation as part of the Maryland Safe Streets Program crime initiative, a partnership with the State of Maryland in which Salisbury became the second city (Annapolis being the first) to become a Maryland Safe Streets City.
My op-ed on the subject appears in today's Daily Times to inform the public about the history of this program and clarify my involvement. Later this week, I will repost that op-ed.
For now, I think it is most important that citizens have access to the actual proposals themselves. In the coming weeks, posts will be made here to clarify the process, correct misconceptions of the public and media, and stimulate productive debate.
Six items are new. The seventh is actually existing code that the mayor intends to "re-activate" through administrative enforcement. You can click the links in this post to view the documents now or download them for later reference. Note: the ordinance names may vary slightly in different media. Descriptive names are used here.
- Repeated Calls for Service
- Crime-free Lease Addendum
- Tenants' Rights
- Equitable Relief from Prostitution
- Amend BZA Procedures
- Amortization of Nonconforming Uses
- Periodic Area Search (current code to be "re-activated")
For those who checked this site earlier, thank you for your patience while we resolved uploader problems.
On Monday, August 2, 2010, Mayor Jim Ireton released a package of legislation as part of the Maryland Safe Streets Program crime initiative, a partnership with the State of Maryland in which Salisbury became the second city (Annapolis being the first) to become a Maryland Safe Streets City.
My op-ed on the subject appears in today's Daily Times to inform the public about the history of this program and clarify my involvement. Later this week, I will repost that op-ed.
For now, I think it is most important that citizens have access to the actual proposals themselves. In the coming weeks, posts will be made here to clarify the process, correct misconceptions of the public and media, and stimulate productive debate.
Six items are new. The seventh is actually existing code that the mayor intends to "re-activate" through administrative enforcement. You can click the links in this post to view the documents now or download them for later reference. Note: the ordinance names may vary slightly in different media. Descriptive names are used here.
- Repeated Calls for Service
- Crime-free Lease Addendum
- Tenants' Rights
- Equitable Relief from Prostitution
- Amend BZA Procedures
- Amortization of Nonconforming Uses
- Periodic Area Search (current code to be "re-activated")
For those who checked this site earlier, thank you for your patience while we resolved uploader problems.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Important Information About Council Audio Files
By Terry E. Cohen
Some of the most important discussion Salisbury's city council has on any given issue takes place at its work sessions, which are not televised on public access cable channel PAC14 or streamed over the Internet at PAC14.org's website, as are the Monday night legislative sessions. Council Member Campbell and I have suggested to council that work sessions be taped for later broadcast so that the public would have a better understanding of issues, some of which do not make it to the legislative agendas. We did not receive support from any other council member.
In the spirit of compromise and increased transparency, we then suggested that the audio from council sessions be placed on the City website, which is why the audio of each current Monday legislative session is now on the site (thanks to City Clerk Brenda Colegrove and Assistant City Clerk Kim Nichols). However, only the one current legislative session is posted at a time.
After a public input session we held in 2007, we suggested that work session audios also be posted on the City's website. We did not received support from any other council member.
Therefore, when we started this site, we decided that, for the public's information and convenience, it would have links to the audio of these sessions, maintaining a history for as long as space permitted.
The 2010 audio files from May, June, July and August to date have been posted now. As time permits, we will post the previous sessions for 2010.
You can look in the right column of this page, scrolling down to find the link to the session you want. Depending on your own computer's settings, a simple click on a link will allow you to save the file to your computer for later listening and/or allow you to listen to the session of choice immediately with your computer's media playing software.
With the limitations local media have in covering issues, we hope these files will be useful to our citizens when they want to understand more fully what is taking place. With the number of additional work sessions being held, mostly scheduled during City office hours when it is difficult for the majority of the public to attend, we feel this affords the public an opportunity that they may not have had otherwise, at least not without inconvenience or cost to obtain a CD from the city clerk's office.
Please let us know if you have any questions about the information you hear. Thank you for taking time to stay abreast of issues in Salisbury that affect you.
Some of the most important discussion Salisbury's city council has on any given issue takes place at its work sessions, which are not televised on public access cable channel PAC14 or streamed over the Internet at PAC14.org's website, as are the Monday night legislative sessions. Council Member Campbell and I have suggested to council that work sessions be taped for later broadcast so that the public would have a better understanding of issues, some of which do not make it to the legislative agendas. We did not receive support from any other council member.
In the spirit of compromise and increased transparency, we then suggested that the audio from council sessions be placed on the City website, which is why the audio of each current Monday legislative session is now on the site (thanks to City Clerk Brenda Colegrove and Assistant City Clerk Kim Nichols). However, only the one current legislative session is posted at a time.
After a public input session we held in 2007, we suggested that work session audios also be posted on the City's website. We did not received support from any other council member.
Therefore, when we started this site, we decided that, for the public's information and convenience, it would have links to the audio of these sessions, maintaining a history for as long as space permitted.
The 2010 audio files from May, June, July and August to date have been posted now. As time permits, we will post the previous sessions for 2010.
You can look in the right column of this page, scrolling down to find the link to the session you want. Depending on your own computer's settings, a simple click on a link will allow you to save the file to your computer for later listening and/or allow you to listen to the session of choice immediately with your computer's media playing software.
With the limitations local media have in covering issues, we hope these files will be useful to our citizens when they want to understand more fully what is taking place. With the number of additional work sessions being held, mostly scheduled during City office hours when it is difficult for the majority of the public to attend, we feel this affords the public an opportunity that they may not have had otherwise, at least not without inconvenience or cost to obtain a CD from the city clerk's office.
Please let us know if you have any questions about the information you hear. Thank you for taking time to stay abreast of issues in Salisbury that affect you.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Last Comprehensive Plan Meeting, Thurs., May 13, 6 p.m.
COMMUNITY INFORMATION SESSION
2010 Draft City of Salisbury Comprehensive Plan
The City of Salisbury will host a community information session on Thursday, May 13, 2010, starting at 6:00 P.M. in the training center of the Salisbury Fire Headquarters – Station 16, 325 Cypress Street, Salisbury, Maryland.
Over the past 22-months the City has conducted over thirty meetings open to the public to receive feedback about the various elements included in the Draft Plan. As part of the plan adoption process, State agencies had the opportunity to review the Draft Plan. The State review comments received to date are very positive and encouraging. Additionally as part of the plan adoption process, the Salisbury Planning Commission and the City Council have recently held Public Hearings to receive comments from the public. Both hearings had positive outcomes, with appropriate clarification included.
The Mayor and City Council encourage all members of the public with final questions and comments to join staff at this upcoming meeting to learn more about the final draft Plan. Prior to the meeting, we recommend reviewing the latest version of the final draft Plan, which is located on the City of Salisbury website at
http://www.ci.salisbury.md.us/SalisburyComprehensivePlan/tabid/621/Default.aspx.
Copies of the draft Plan are also available to the public in the following locations:
• City of Salisbury, City Clerk’s Office, Government Office Building, Room 305;
• Salisbury – Wicomico County Department of Planning, Zoning & Community Development, Government Office Building, Room 203; and
• The Wicomico Public Library, 122 South Division Street, Salisbury, Maryland.
Public input is an integral component of any comprehensive planning process.
If you are unable to attend the community information session or would like to schedule an individual meeting to learn more about the Draft 2010 City of Salisbury Comprehensive Plan, contact Keith D. Hall, Long-Range/Transportation Planner, Salisbury – Wicomico County Department of Planning, Zoning & Community Development at (410) 548-4860 or via e-mail Khall@wicomicocounty.org.
# # #
2010 Draft City of Salisbury Comprehensive Plan
The City of Salisbury will host a community information session on Thursday, May 13, 2010, starting at 6:00 P.M. in the training center of the Salisbury Fire Headquarters – Station 16, 325 Cypress Street, Salisbury, Maryland.
Over the past 22-months the City has conducted over thirty meetings open to the public to receive feedback about the various elements included in the Draft Plan. As part of the plan adoption process, State agencies had the opportunity to review the Draft Plan. The State review comments received to date are very positive and encouraging. Additionally as part of the plan adoption process, the Salisbury Planning Commission and the City Council have recently held Public Hearings to receive comments from the public. Both hearings had positive outcomes, with appropriate clarification included.
The Mayor and City Council encourage all members of the public with final questions and comments to join staff at this upcoming meeting to learn more about the final draft Plan. Prior to the meeting, we recommend reviewing the latest version of the final draft Plan, which is located on the City of Salisbury website at
http://www.ci.salisbury.md.us/SalisburyComprehensivePlan/tabid/621/Default.aspx.
Copies of the draft Plan are also available to the public in the following locations:
• City of Salisbury, City Clerk’s Office, Government Office Building, Room 305;
• Salisbury – Wicomico County Department of Planning, Zoning & Community Development, Government Office Building, Room 203; and
• The Wicomico Public Library, 122 South Division Street, Salisbury, Maryland.
Public input is an integral component of any comprehensive planning process.
If you are unable to attend the community information session or would like to schedule an individual meeting to learn more about the Draft 2010 City of Salisbury Comprehensive Plan, contact Keith D. Hall, Long-Range/Transportation Planner, Salisbury – Wicomico County Department of Planning, Zoning & Community Development at (410) 548-4860 or via e-mail Khall@wicomicocounty.org.
# # #
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Dump Truck Is Matter of Public Trust
Statement of Terry E. Cohen, Salisbury City Councilmember
Feb. 22, 2010
“The Public Trust”
Updated Feb. 24, 2010
Last Thursday (Feb. 18) in council work session, council and administration discussed the budget amendment needed for the acquisition of a 3-ton dump truck. The question was asked of me what it would take to move the amendment forward.
As of Dec. 21, 2009, I had been willing to move the budget amendments forward. That changed when I learned the truck had or may have been ordered without a budget amendment to legally appropriate the money, despite my having raised the issue the day after the award of bids and before the truck was ordered.
At the Feb. 18 work session, I was personally attacked for insisting that parties responsible be held accountable in some way because I think the City Charter and State Law are both clear about not making contracts for which the money is not appropriated. When I said I felt this had been a violation of the public trust, the response was laughter from a member of the council majority saying, “What public trust?”
To some, this may be a technicality or about one dump truck. It's really about the law and the public trust.
Some say it's just an honest mistake, but the question was raised before the truck was ordered and should have been resolved before the order was placed. A mistake had been made with a second truck as an accounting matter, but this truck is about more than an accounting matter. Expediency is not an excuse. “The ends justify the means” is not part of the sections of law I cite.
This is another instance in a pattern of moving forward without appropriate action being taken first. Without accountability, the pattern will continue, and the checks and balances legally in place to protect the public's money will fail when we most need them to work.
A chronology. the two sections of law and the contract signature page follow or are attached.
Oct. 26, 2009 – Council approves award of bid for dump truck. (An award of bid designates who the contract goes to. It does not authorize a purchase. An appropriation authorizes a purchase.)
Oct. 27, 2009 – Councilmember Cohen sends email to City Administrator John Pick, copied to Mayor Ireton and Director of Internal Services Pam Oland. (“Last night Pam said the S-3 vote was required because the purchase was not budgeted. Do we not, then, need a budget amendment? I realize the lease is already appropriated money, but the money was appropriated for another purpose....Thanks for looking into these questions and whether we need to make a budget amendment promptly....”)
Oct. 27, 2009 – Purchase order is cut.
Oct. 28, 2009 – Contract Agreement date.
Oct. 28 – Nov. 4, 2009 – Contract signatures obtained.
Nov. 6, 2009 – Executed contract and purchase order provided to vendor.
Nov. 16, 2009 – Email from Pick to Cohen that the budget needed to be amended two ways: 1. to accommodate new accounting rules and 2. to move appropriation from Sanitation division to Streets division. (First amendment was to have been presented at Nov. 30, 2009, work session, which was canceled.)
Dec. 21, 2009 – Budget amendment to adjust for accounting change discussed and consensus reached to move forward. However, no mention was made that the trucks were already ordered by those present who had signed the contract.
Jan. 11, 2010 – Budget amendment to adjust for accounting change brought for legislative vote. Cohen asked when the truck was ordered. Oland responded that she did not have the date on hand. Cohen asked if both trucks were ordered together. Oland responded she did not know. Councilmember Debbie Campbell asked, regardless of the date, if the truck had been ordered. Oland replied she did not have the answer to that question. No one present who had signed the contract mentioned that the trucks had already been ordered.
Feb. 12, 2010 – Date of Invoice to City.
Feb. 16, 2010 – Date of Actual Delivery to City (received)
Feb. 17, 2010 – Vehicle Tagged
Maryland Annotated Code Article 31, Section 3.
§ 3. Contracts not authorized by appropriation prohibited. An officer or agent of any county, township or municipal corporation who is charged or entrusted with the construction, improvement or keeping in repair of any building or work of any kind, or with the management or providing for any public institution, shall not make any contract binding or purporting to bind the county, township or municipal corporation to pay any sum of money not previously appropriated for the purpose for which such contract is made, and remaining unexpended, and applicable to such purpose, such officer or agent who wilfully or knowingly makes or participates in making a contract without such appropriation or authority, shall be personally liable thereon, and the county, township or municipal corporation in whose name or behalf the same was made shall be not liable thereon.
§ SC7-29. Overexpenditure forbidden.
No office, department or agency shall during any budget year expend or contract to expend
any money or incur any liability or enter into any contract which by its terms involves the expenditure of money, for any purpose, in excess of the amounts appropriated for that general classification of expenditure pursuant to this Charter. Any contract, verbal or written, made in violation of this Charter shall be null and void. Any officer or employee of the city who shall violate this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall cease to hold his office or employment. Nothing in this section, however, shall prevent the making of contracts or the spending of money for capital improvements to be financed in whole or in part by the issuance of bonds or the making of contracts of lease or for services for a period exceeding the budget year in which such contract is made, when such contract is permitted by law.
[1959 Code, sec. 365. ch. 534, sec. 84] [Renumbered 1-11-99 by Res. No. 629]
Feb. 22, 2010
“The Public Trust”
Updated Feb. 24, 2010
Last Thursday (Feb. 18) in council work session, council and administration discussed the budget amendment needed for the acquisition of a 3-ton dump truck. The question was asked of me what it would take to move the amendment forward.
As of Dec. 21, 2009, I had been willing to move the budget amendments forward. That changed when I learned the truck had or may have been ordered without a budget amendment to legally appropriate the money, despite my having raised the issue the day after the award of bids and before the truck was ordered.
At the Feb. 18 work session, I was personally attacked for insisting that parties responsible be held accountable in some way because I think the City Charter and State Law are both clear about not making contracts for which the money is not appropriated. When I said I felt this had been a violation of the public trust, the response was laughter from a member of the council majority saying, “What public trust?”
To some, this may be a technicality or about one dump truck. It's really about the law and the public trust.
Some say it's just an honest mistake, but the question was raised before the truck was ordered and should have been resolved before the order was placed. A mistake had been made with a second truck as an accounting matter, but this truck is about more than an accounting matter. Expediency is not an excuse. “The ends justify the means” is not part of the sections of law I cite.
This is another instance in a pattern of moving forward without appropriate action being taken first. Without accountability, the pattern will continue, and the checks and balances legally in place to protect the public's money will fail when we most need them to work.
A chronology. the two sections of law and the contract signature page follow or are attached.
Oct. 26, 2009 – Council approves award of bid for dump truck. (An award of bid designates who the contract goes to. It does not authorize a purchase. An appropriation authorizes a purchase.)
Oct. 27, 2009 – Councilmember Cohen sends email to City Administrator John Pick, copied to Mayor Ireton and Director of Internal Services Pam Oland. (“Last night Pam said the S-3 vote was required because the purchase was not budgeted. Do we not, then, need a budget amendment? I realize the lease is already appropriated money, but the money was appropriated for another purpose....Thanks for looking into these questions and whether we need to make a budget amendment promptly....”)
Oct. 27, 2009 – Purchase order is cut.
Oct. 28, 2009 – Contract Agreement date.
Oct. 28 – Nov. 4, 2009 – Contract signatures obtained.
Nov. 6, 2009 – Executed contract and purchase order provided to vendor.
Nov. 16, 2009 – Email from Pick to Cohen that the budget needed to be amended two ways: 1. to accommodate new accounting rules and 2. to move appropriation from Sanitation division to Streets division. (First amendment was to have been presented at Nov. 30, 2009, work session, which was canceled.)
Dec. 21, 2009 – Budget amendment to adjust for accounting change discussed and consensus reached to move forward. However, no mention was made that the trucks were already ordered by those present who had signed the contract.
Jan. 11, 2010 – Budget amendment to adjust for accounting change brought for legislative vote. Cohen asked when the truck was ordered. Oland responded that she did not have the date on hand. Cohen asked if both trucks were ordered together. Oland responded she did not know. Councilmember Debbie Campbell asked, regardless of the date, if the truck had been ordered. Oland replied she did not have the answer to that question. No one present who had signed the contract mentioned that the trucks had already been ordered.
Feb. 12, 2010 – Date of Invoice to City.
Feb. 16, 2010 – Date of Actual Delivery to City (received)
Feb. 17, 2010 – Vehicle Tagged
Maryland Annotated Code Article 31, Section 3.
§ 3. Contracts not authorized by appropriation prohibited. An officer or agent of any county, township or municipal corporation who is charged or entrusted with the construction, improvement or keeping in repair of any building or work of any kind, or with the management or providing for any public institution, shall not make any contract binding or purporting to bind the county, township or municipal corporation to pay any sum of money not previously appropriated for the purpose for which such contract is made, and remaining unexpended, and applicable to such purpose, such officer or agent who wilfully or knowingly makes or participates in making a contract without such appropriation or authority, shall be personally liable thereon, and the county, township or municipal corporation in whose name or behalf the same was made shall be not liable thereon.
§ SC7-29. Overexpenditure forbidden.
No office, department or agency shall during any budget year expend or contract to expend
any money or incur any liability or enter into any contract which by its terms involves the expenditure of money, for any purpose, in excess of the amounts appropriated for that general classification of expenditure pursuant to this Charter. Any contract, verbal or written, made in violation of this Charter shall be null and void. Any officer or employee of the city who shall violate this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall cease to hold his office or employment. Nothing in this section, however, shall prevent the making of contracts or the spending of money for capital improvements to be financed in whole or in part by the issuance of bonds or the making of contracts of lease or for services for a period exceeding the budget year in which such contract is made, when such contract is permitted by law.
[1959 Code, sec. 365. ch. 534, sec. 84] [Renumbered 1-11-99 by Res. No. 629]
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