Chuck Hughes, Salisbury, N.C.
♦ Salisbury’s elected officials have consistently wasted taxpayer’s money on projects such as Fibrant and are apparently planning to continue pouring money into even more downtown projects at great taxpayer expense. Since Salisbury can no longer forcibly annex to continue feeding its delusions of grandeur, it has to try to buy its way out of decay by the only avenue now available – raising taxes on a tax base that is already stretched. Will this bring in new residents, new businesses or keep the taxpayers from moving from the now static city limits to the county or elsewhere?
I would think the offset savings to the city with the county consolidated 911 center should have helped Salisbury’s financial shortfall. So why didn’t Doug bring that up, instead of blaming the legislature? Instead of highlighting ‘stakeholder’ in a dictionary for someone else, perhaps Doug needed to highlight ‘truth’ in his own dictionary, and study it for the future.
The truth is, Salisbury will never obtain the economic status of a Mooresville by taxation or become the Piedmont version of a Savannah by substituting river richness with bicycle trails. The most pathetic ingredient in Salisbury’s crumbling cookie, however, is the failure of the city manager and the city council to stand and take responsibility for their blunders. Instead, they attempt to blame their short comings on everyone and everything under the sun except their own mismanagement. Guess the next distraction will be to blame it on ____________________.
When will the LGC step in and examine Salisbury’s books?
