From the McGrady For Mayor Campaign:
Patrick McGrady is now officially a candidate for Mayor of the City of Aberdeen. The Aberdeen Board of Elections approved McGrady’s candidacy application on September 14, 2011.
The McGrady for Mayor campaign is moving ahead toward the November 8, 2011 election.
Saturday morning, McGrady said “We have been talking to lots of voters in Aberdeen. People are frustrated with the ever-increasing water bills and taxes that come from City Hall. We believe that Aberdeen can be great, but we need new leadership to make that happen.”
The current administration at City Hall has approved “fee” increases and water/sewer rate increases at a rapid pace in recent years. The “ENR fee” adds approximately $75 per year to each residential bill. The sewer rate was increased by 3% this year on top of other increases in recent years.
“The hard-working people of Aberdeen need relief from the taxes and spending at City Hall,” McGrady continued, “We are all tired of the excuses. Let’s get Aberdeen back to work together.”
The McGrady for Mayor Campaign has released a new video introducing Patrick at www.McGradyforMayor.com that explains why Patrick is running and the changes that he wants to make in Aberdeen, including making it easier to invest in Aberdeen.
Patrick is a long-time member of the Aberdeen community and small businessman who believes in the future of the City of Aberdeen. “I love Aberdeen, and I want to see our community thrive.” Patrick says.
If you are interested in volunteering or for more information, contact Patrick directly at 410.357.1234 or PLM5002@gmail.com.
To his credit, Mr McGrady answered my previous post asking him many questions via email. However, he neglected to share his responses with the general public, so I am posting them now.
His responses represent an amalgam of circumspect, radical right talking points and some the kind of short sited “free-market” decision making which has lead to drastic increases in utility charges via deregulation of BGE. If your electric bill went up after Ehrlich deregulated electricity, what do you think will happen to your water and trash bill if McGrady gets elected? Have a read.
Questions:
How do you plan on ?reducing the red-tape at City Hall and getting
Aberdeen back to work and creating jobs?? How specifically do you
propose that the mayor can create jobs? Without revenue, how do you
plan to renovate the water and sewer system in Aberdeen which is
literally falling apart? Would your privatization plan include our
water, sewer and trash which currently are far cheaper than the rest
of the county which has privatized water and trash collection? What
specific ?mandates, excessive regulation, and additional expenses from
the federal or state government? will you resist and how do plan to be
effective in this resistance? How specifically do you plan on
?reducing spending and making government operate in a more restrained
and efficient manner?? Why do you think Aberdeen government is too
large? What specific positions would you cut? While I think it is
admirable that you will donate your salary, to how much does that
actually amount in savings? Please don?t just give us a handful of
promises and Tea Party talking points. Please give us your specific
plans and solutions. I look forward to your response.
Mr. McGrady’sAnswers:
1. “Reducing Red Tape”– Aberdeen needs to establish a concrete set of
rules for investing in Aberdeen. If you want to build a new apartment
building or fast food joint or otherwise store, there needs to be a
document that you can pick up from City Hall and evaluate what it is
going to cost to make that investment. These decisions are currently
provided to potential investors based on political connections and the
mood of the City employee on the day the question is posed. There is
no accountability, and we need to invite investment if we want to see
Aberdeen thrive.
2. You ask how I intend to create jobs as the Mayor. The role of Mayor
is not to create jobs. The role of Mayor is to establish the vision
for the City so we can all play by the same rules. This fair
environment will stimulate investment and then job growth will follow.
3. There is plenty of revenue as it stands to resolve the crumbling
infrastructure. Aberdeen needs to work harder to facilitate an
inter-municipal water/sewer authority with Harford County and Havre de
Grace to increase the economies of scale in water prep and sewer prep.
4. In terms of privatization, everything should be on the table. Water
and sewer are not easily privatiz-able. See the above municipal
authority idea. Somebody was saying that garbage is currently very
cheap, because it costs $1.00 per bag. If you dig into the budget docs
on the City website, you will find out that the sales of trash
stickers only yield $160,000 in annual revenue. The cost of
collections and truck maintenance and salaries for trash employees
approaches $650,000. The difference between the cost of the stickers
and the actual cost is subsidized by property tax collections. If we
can find a non-governmental organization that wants to collect the
garbage for less money, why wouldn’t we do it?
5. Mandates: The State of Maryland passed down a mandate to Aberdeen
that basically ensured that we would have to pay $16Million to do the
ENR upgrade at the water treatment plant. The reason for this very
costly upgrade (and unfunded mandate) was to reduce the levels of
phosphates in the water from .02 to .01 (the units escape me now, but
it was a very small improvement in water quality, for a very large
cost). This added $75/year to every single residential water/sewer bill in
the form of the ENR fee. This fee is charged whether you use one
gallon of water per year or a million and it is a “fee” not a “tax” so
it cannot be deducted from federal or state income taxes. Where was
the fight over this? Where was the dust-up about Aberdeen’s ENR fee?
If the City government isn’t advocating for the city residents and
taxpayers, who is?
Also, the sewer rate that Aberdeen pays has to increase 3% per year
every year (according to Bruce Garner. I have been trying to review
the ARRA documents about this, but City Hall is tough to deal with)
because we accepted Stimulus money. We should not accept mandates like
this from higher levels of government without a fight.
Then there is the MDTA toll increase. Havre de Grace’s commissoners
passed a resolution opposing the elimination of the decal and the
increases at Hatem. I asked the Aberdeen Council to do the same, and
they scoffed at me.
Finally, under mandates, is the PlanMaryland program. This is
establishing a precedent for the State government telling
municipalities and Counties how they must plan their communities.
Central Planning cannot work because the communities across the state
are diverse and varied in their interests. I want a City Council that
explains issues like these and talks about the costs and benefits of
accepting a state-mandated plan for building in Aberdeen. The
government closest to the people is the best. Aberdeen deserves to
make decisions about our own destiny.
6. The size of Aberdeen government is too large. Population growth
from 2000 to 2010 in Aberdeen was 6.2%. Spending growth at City has
has increased 50%. In my business and philanthopic pursuits, I talk to
lots of business people. The overwhelming consensus is that Aberdeen
is bad for business — not because of the people in the City or the
demographics, but because of the folks at City Hall.
The City government has taken on too much responsibility. Last year,
in the FY11 budget, $200,000 was allocated for sidwalk construction.
The Fiscal Year ends in July. In May, the DPW director went to the
Council and asked for that $200,000 that was supposed to be used for
sidewalk construction to be transferred so that the DPW could build a
salt dome. Sidewalks didn’t get fixed all year and then they asked to
spend the money elsewhere. This was simply irresponsible, and just the
latest example.
I could go on, but I will save that for a later question. Let me know
if you have specific questions about this failure.
7. How much would donating the salary save: 10K per year salary: 40k
savings over 10 years. 15k annual dues to MML: 60k savings over 10
years. With the first budget, 100K in savings with the stroke of a
pen. I believe in Aberdeen. I want the people here to love it as much
as I do. But Aberdeen needs help.
Counterpoints:
1. I believe that the city code provides a process for acquiring permits and developing. I also believe that unless I am mistaken there has been substantial development in Aberdeen lately. Just drive down 22. You’ll see.
2. There seems to have been many help wanted signs around and substantial construction, as well as, business development over the past two years. I guess Mr. Bennet did a good job in his role to “establish the vision for the City so we can all play by the same rules. This fair environment will stimulate investment and then job growth will follow.”
I think what Mr.McGrady means by a fair environment is one in which he, WasteManagement, MD American Water and his cronies can profit at the expense of Aberdeen’s tax payers.
3. Please explain… the last time I checked the city did not have sufficient funds to revitalize the water system. How will the “economics of scale” solve this problem? Do you have a divining rod in your back pocket?
4. Do you have the specific budget amounts for trash employees and truck maintenance? Call me suspicious but “approaches $650,000” does not sound like a firm number to me. It sounds to me like Mr. McGrady plans on terminating many of our city employees if he is elected. The small business community better pay close attention because the last time I checked city works spend a fair amount of their salaries here in Aberdeen.
5. How are any of these mandates within the Mayor’s control? Besides, the toll problem has been resolved. Perhaps the Mayor Bennett wisely spent his time working on problems which he actually had the power to resolve, rather than pining over policies which lie outside of his sphere of influence.
6. Please cite specific numbers of people and $$$’s. Likewise, please quote specific business people. How is a request for reallocation of funds a growth in govt.? Why is this irresponsible? Where are the sidewalks that need fixed? I walk around town often and haven’t seen any in disrepair. Where do we keep the salt without a salt dome?
7. Maybe its me but I think 10k per year time 10 years = 100,000k. However, I think the mayor’s term is 4 yrs. Isn’t it? Why are you listing savings over a ten year period? The numbers don’t add up Mr. McGrady. It is awfully presumptuous for you to assume you are proposed policies will last ten years in city govt. Why does Aberdeen need help? See aforementioned development. Haven’t the citizens of Aberdeen said time and time again that they do not want excessive development?
Mr. McGrady, you say you love Aberdeen but you don’t love its workers. You don’t respect its residents’ desire to maintain a “small city” atmosphere. You say Aberdeen should make its own decision but you don’t want to fund improvements to the water system and maintain its public utility status to preserve its self-sufficiency. These seem to be obvious non-sequitors.
How long have you lived in Aberdeen any way? Did you go to the public schools here? Why should the citizens of Aberdeen trust someone who seems determined to turn the public works of their city over to profiteers?
Ryan my only comment to you is meant to answer your last question-because it would save the city half a million dollars a year. Profiteers as you call them offer jobs that are not on the backs of taxpayers.
You are inaccurate. WasteManagement will cost more. In fact, it costs much more. Aberdeen has a population of about 15,000 people. If there really is a cost of $500,000 per year for trash, which I doubt, that means that each resident is paying about $33/year. WasteManagement charges more than that a month. That is not a tax savings. It is a defacto tax increase. Likewise, it will not create jobs in our community. It will drain jobs away, thus bleeding funds from our local economy.
Sorry, Mr McGrady. I watched the video. You answered the public school questions but how long have you lived in Aberdeen as an adult? Could you please delineate exactly how our city government has grown recently? If $40 million is too much money for the city to spend in its budget, what do you think is a reasonable number? What services do you plan to cut to accomplish this? How many city workers do you plan to terminate to “reduce the size of govt.” ? Also, if you are so concerned about Aberdeen, what have you done over the past couple of years to invest in this city, create jobs and improve the quality of life here? Quite frankly, it seems that your quest to “reduce property taxes” will disproportionately benefit you compared to the other citizens of Aberdeen, since the church property which you are renovating is worth substantially more than virtually any home in Aberdeen. How many other properties do you own or have interests in Aberdeen?
You live in quite the socialized utopia Ryan. Government paying your check and running your whole world. Maybe if you had any interaction with the private economy you would see how your ideals are sucking the lifeblood out of those of us paying for your safety blanket. The man answered you with ideas and numbers and you respond with questions and no solutions of your own. Private companies are now all “privateers.” Your politics are frightening and I wonder how we grew up in the same country.
Mr./Ms. B,
I have no safety blanket. Like everyone else, I have worked and continue to work very hard to get ahead. I live in no utopia nor is my life any more socialized than anyone else. My solution is to continue to allow the residents of Aberdeen to receive less expensive water and trash service than the rest of the county. My solution is to stop demonizing our public servants as deviants or derelicts. Private companies do some things well but when it comes to services which are required for basic life like water, sewer and trash collection, private companies just increase cost. You know they do make a profit. Those of your ilk would do well to remember that myself and the other “lifeblood-sucking” public employees spend our paychecks in local businesses creating demand and local profits. We hire contractors. We buy products. When we can afford it, which at least in my case, is not often, we eat in local restaurants. Doesn’t that make us job-creaters? Doesn’t that make us a crucial part of the economy? Why are teachers, police officers, city workers, state workers, firemen and other public employees less or somehow a drain on your “lifeblood”? Why should we, meaning all the citizens of Aberdeen, send our hard earned $$$ off to line the coffers of some corporation like WasteManagement or MD American Water, rather than put it back into our own city?
Oh, I forgot…Why do you need to hide behind a pseudonym to hurl insults? Why don’t you have the courage to put your name to your rants?
Ryan, I appreciate that you use your name. I now know which classroom to keep my kids far away from.
Mr.McGrady answered your questions w/ solutions and ideas. Where are yours, better yet, where are Mr. Bennetts? The number of phone calls to city hall for any question, on any topic, runs about 5 per person. Does that make time sense? Perhaps if the city employee would find the answer and return the calls, but they do not.
The rudeness of the city hall staff to Aberdeen citizens is only topped by Mr. Burbey’s blatant condemnation of any other ideas expressed. Mr. McGrady has shown he has the tenacity and the intelligence to pursue answers and to state his ideas clearly.
I ask you this, are your sidewalks fixed? How about the street surface in front of your house? As a former teacher myself, I know that your salary is substantial, so you could invest in Aberdeen businesses often, ie. dinners out, but you choose not to eat out. Why? The diner is closed, oh yea, high taxes again. What about the beauty shops, car lots and gas stations that are now closed? How about the numbers of homes for sale or auction? Gee, I guess you don’t see all of those from your ivory tower. Yes there is construction on Rt. 22, but remember the funds and tax breaks granted to them by feds, state and city funds. Brac was a big help for them, too.
By the sound of your letters to Mr. McGrady, you have questions but not many answers. Perhaps you should explore your own questions and then share your own ideas with the rest of us. At least he has the guts and the brains to try to make Aberdeen better.
Dear Toby,
First off, I am not running for mayor. I don’t need to have answers. However, I also don’t see the problem.
Yes, my side walk is in fine shape. The roads in my neighborhood were recently fixed. My street was plowed when the rest of the county was snowed in. I have no idea about your specious phone call data. The businesses that closed didn’t close because of taxes. They closed because of lack of demand. Aberdeen has a glut of beauty shops. They are all over the place. There are plenty of gas stations too. The Ideal Diner is closed for renovations. The Aberdeen Diner is open. I ate there when the power was out. How will more competition help the businesses which still exist? The vacant houses and closed car lots are the result of the same issues the rest of the country has, which is due to a collapse in the real estate and financial markets. It has nothing to do with taxes. The taxes in Aberdeen are reasonable. How will more construction help to relieve the pressure on the housing market? Who would buy or occupy the homes? Haven’t the citizens of Aberdeen stated over and over again that they don’t want more development?
If you truly are a former teacher, which I doubt. you would know that my salary is not substantial. It is about $60,000 per year. It affords me a modest home and pays my bills, including my student loans. We eat out when we can afford it. When we do I go to local restaurants. When I purchase, I try to buy from local businesses. I only wish I could sit in an ivory tower.
As to Mr. McGrady’s “solutions” or tenacity. He has proposed no solutions. What he offers will cut our services, increase our cost and relegate more people to the unemployment line. Every dollar cut from a city budget is attached to some’s job. I am all for eliminating waste but having a city which employs workers and is self-sustaining is crucial. Our water has gone up but the city govt. didn’t cause this nor can they solve it. Everyone in the state of MD is paying the fees Mr. McGrady lists. Our water is still far cheaper than the rest of the county which is privatized. Mr. McGrady offers a shallow litany of talking points which have little or no basis in fact. His “solutions” will leave workers unemployed. His “solutions” will leave citizens under-service and shackled to more for profit utilities which can and will raise rates at their own whim despite the economic conditions.
You can hurl all the insults and conjecture at me you like. It won’t add any substance to Mr. McGrady’s diatribe. Rather than commending Mr.McGrady for his “guts” or courage, perhaps, you should show some of your own by attaching your full name to your comments. You are right about one thing. I do condemn Mr.MrGrady’s ideas. They do not offer a better future for Aberdeen.
Sincerely,
Ryan Burbey
The new ideal diner is closed permanently, they couldn’t afford to do business.
Eliminating socialized trash pick up would save me money as I don’t use the city trash pick up yet my tax dollars subsidizes it.
Also I would consider a salary of $60,000 a year quite substantial giving the fact that you are teacher, given the ease of the job. I would love to get payed to $60,000 a year and have so much time off and in doors job, and of course the great health benefits.
You obviously have no idea of the work which is involved in teaching. However, if you think its so easy, just get a degree, get your certification, get a masters degree + 30 credits and work for ten years at your profession and you can make what I make indoors. By the way, our healthcare is not that great and given my income level, I qualify for MD insurance for my family.
If trash is socialized, does that mean that all city services are socialized? Maybe we should hire out the police, fire, public works, snowplowing, etc. That is just ridiculous. The truth in your position lies with the fact that you don’t use it so you do like. If I’m not mistaken The Aberdeen Diner is were the New Ideal Diner was. The Ideal Diner had a sign on the door “Closed for renovations” the las time I went to try to eat there.