It’s all about how they are spending your money…

At the risk of alarming some readers or making others weary of the waste, fraud and abuse of the Good Old Boys type of government which exists in St. Mary’s County, this week will begin a series of articles on how the St. Mary’s Commissioners have spent the money that they take from you in the form of taxes.  

The three liberal Democrats on the Board, have recently decided to go ahead with a new budget for the coming fiscal year and ignored the chance to negate the recent increases in property assessments by the State of Maryland by lowering the tax rate.  The final budget has not been set and the two Republicans on the Board, Kenny Dement (R. Piney Point) and Larry Jarboe (R. Golden Beach) have said it is their intention to vote to cut the tax rate and maintain the constant yield.  Dement is asking for suggestions on what budget items to cut.

Over the past seven years, in the name of Homeland Security since the attack on America by radical Muslims, more than $1.8 million has been spent by St. Mary’s County for equipment used for first responders, police and emergency management.  This spending apparently has also taken place in more than 3,000 other counties across the nation.

ST. MARY’S TODAY has obtained, through a Public Information Request, a breakdown on how the St. Mary’s County officials have spent the money In fiscal year 2002, the county received and spent over $67,000 in Homeland Security funds. 

In fiscal year 2003, the figure jumped to $129,202. 

In fiscal year 2004 the total was $244,048. 

In 2005 the Homeland Security funds soared to $385,405; and in 2006, the flow of federal Homeland Security funds began to drop off to $217,850; while in fiscal year 2007 the total came to $102,752 and for fiscal year 2008, the total of funds spent was up to $212,987.

The following is a review of how the funds were spent:

One of the most glaring waste of money was a ‘decontamination shelter’.  This is right out of a movie or the big city news cast.  This shelter was purchased with $18,990 of your tax money.  And don’t let anyone tell you that because the tax money was routed from your pocket to the IRS and then back from Washington, DC that this wasn’t your money.  It was and it is.

This decontamination shelter is where a bunch of people wearing moon suits will show up because someone spilled bleach or some flour and the panic button is pushed and pretty soon everyone in your office will be stripped and sprayed with some really curious chemical and of course they need a decontamination shelter to do this in.  That ought to be fun.

Now the Hazmat masks and biological chemical suits that the moon-men will be wearing came at a cost of $186.85.   They got 16 of them to put in those big trailers that they are going to store inside of the old Bell Motors garage.  Just hope the building doesn’t catch fire but a lot more Hazmat items other than these zoot suits are going to go up in smoke. 
These are the cheap ones.

There are 29 Chemical Protective Level A Encapsulted suits, in various sizes, at a cost of $376.84 each.  Some really cheap suits, likely for the taxpayers to wear, were bought at a cost of $3,596.40 for 180 of them.

In case someone wants to take a picture of all those hazmat gear being used to help people in case someone dumps over a bottle of bleach in a local restaurant, as took place a few years ago at the Days Inn, the county spent $1,499 for a Olympus Prodigital SLR 5.0 pixel camera.  Only the best when it’s your money.  A camera by the same maker available for about $140 would do just as well.
The county also purchased two Digital 4.0 pixel cameras for the EMA on June 28, 2004 at a cost of $397.24 each.  Hopefully they won’t use them once and then throw them away.

But back to hazmat suits.
A chemical protective Level A Suit cost $440 and four of those were purchased. 8 more were bought at a cost of $440. In yet another fiscal year, 10 more were bought at the $440.  In fiscal year 2003, 29 of these suits were bought for Hazmat at a cost of $376.84 each. One very special moon suit cost $2,397.

The trailers which haul all the gear must also provide lights because the power will likely be out and three 8,000 watt generators were bought by the county at a cost of $1,001 each.
 This does beg the question of what does the fire department use to set up lights at typical disasters in the past.

The trailers not only have to have generators but they need those fancy stripes on the outside, at a cost of $1,082.

A light bar for the top of the trailers cost $1,999.

A Command ID system for Hazmat cost $40,985 and they liked that one so much that they got two of them, but no discount, the second one cost as much as the first.

On top of that, St. Mary’s County also purchased a “Hazard Mitigation Plan” at a cost of $31,200.  Who wants to guess what this plan consists of? Its probably available for free on the internet and you just overlay your county map and change the names.

Given that the biggest hazards to St. Mary’s County over the years have been high winds and floods brought to the area by Hurricanes and an occasional Navy plane dropping down out of the sky, the plan could read like this: watch out above and check the tv news for the weather when a hurricane is coming and then run like hell. 

Such a plan would be a lot cheaper and when the county was hit the last time by a hurricane, in 2003, it turns out that the radio station didn’t want to send someone down to operate a generator at the remote controlled station on St. Andrews Church Road.  

The 911 director at the time didn’t even know that the county had supplied a generator to the radio station and as a result there were no emergency broadcasts. Now the county has arranged for a Virginia station to broadcast to part of the county in an emergency. The owner of the local radio station has agreed to buy a new generator.

One can only imagine the various items the St. Mary’s Commissioners have allowed their staff to spend money on ways to yell at you.

Two sirens/speakers/mike/extension items cost $999.80 each.
Four microphone/speaker w/antennas cost the county $126.00 each in 2003.

The boys got those big white trailers that they are going to put in Bell’s garage at these prices: $11,800 for a tandem axle trailer; $14,986 each for 3 portable chemical detectors and another $7,322 for three hand-held models.

These Hazmat crews are going to get a good look at you from a distance so they can size up the emergency.  They spent $349 on 3 pairs of lightweight general purpose binoculars.  They are going to clean up when all is said and done as they bought 6 Rubbermaid brooms at a cost of $64.

To cart things around, they spent $151 for a handcart.
And for special ops, the Sheriff’s Department was given by the taxpayers, 10 special ops headsets at a cost of $566.75. Apparently they weren’t happy with those special closed frequency encrypted radios which cost $3,000 each. The boys over at Hazmat must have wanted to one up the Sheriff’s Department and bought 10 adapters for headsets at a cost of $1,150.00. The hazmat crew was supplied with 10 headsets at a cost of $566.75 each on Sept. 20, 2004.
Someone needed a ‘stick on number’ and it cost $1.96, again, a purchase for the hazmat crew. Don’t think there are any other bargains on the list, there are not.

Since these masters of disaster like to light things up, the taxpayers helped them out with repeated purchases of lanterns and spot lights at costs unfamiliar to consumers.   Those million count spotlights one can buy for their car, boat or to look under the bed for about $50 bucks will fade in comparison with the $195.78 Litebox Lantern rechargeable and 120 volt.
Shopping for this same emergency light online finds the first choice at ‘Gemplers’ offering the same item for $157 and a discount offered for multiple orders.

Alas, the county did order multiple units but of another Litebox model, this one the Litebox Sport rechargeable ac/dc and at a cost of $892.30 each, they ordered 4 and is typical of the government when they are spending your money, they got no discount for ordering more.
A search of nearly a dozen outlets which sell this item found prices ranging from about $130 to $150 but there were no specs available which would have run the price up to $892.30 each, leading taxpayers to wonder if this was a case of fraud or simply stupidity in purchasing. 

Copies of the supporting invoices for these really pricey lanterns were requested from the St. Mary’s County Government to explain this purchase.
Upon further review of the county disclosures on Homeland Security spending, it is revealed that the Land Use and Growth Management folks also bought 6 of the Litebox Sport Rechargable yellow ac/dc lanterns at a cost of $892.30 each.  On Thursday, the county said they must have made a mistake and the $892.30 represented the purchase of 10 lanterns.

 These people will be able to light up the way to your home to give you a permit for a deck in the middle of the worst calamity.
On Jan. 9, 2004, the county reports it bought a multi-use dual filament spotlight at a cost of $298.86. Again, internet shopping does not require the expenditure of that much money for this item.

Just to make sure no one is caught in the dark, where it is kinda scary, the taxpayers were also ripped for 50 mini-flashlights at a cost of $562.00. These were for the Health Department.  The county’s health officer runs a tight ship and those mini lights are likely still in a box waiting to be used instead of spread out and lost.

To make sure that victims of disaster have a place to sit and won’t have to sit on an overturned refrigerator blown out of a house or on a toppled tree, the disaster masters of St. Mary’s County very kindly arranged for the purchase of ten 3 legged Woodland camping stools. 

This may be so the disaster crew can have a meeting at the scene of a disaster.  These stools cost $3.99 each, at least, one can only hope they didn’t make a mistake and they cost $399 each. 
13 green safety helmets cost a total of $130 on Oct. 30, 2003 and were assigned to hazmat. 

Just in case, after a disaster has struck and the hazmat crew wants to find out if another hurricane is on the way, they won’t have to use their cell phone, encrypted radio or a landline to call the 911 center for a weather report, they now have a wireless weather station at a cost of $608.52.  This unit is assigned to the hazmat crew.  They could have called the 911 center, which has a generator and is able to watch the weather channel, download Doppler radar or call Pax River NAS tower for a weather, but this is not about logic, its all about toys.  Oh, if the 911 center got blown off the face of the earth, they have the old control center, underground, with a full duplication of everything right down to the refrigerator and microwave, plenty of food too. Maybe donuts.  But they have that wireless weather station and it sure sounds like a good one.

The Sheriff will be able to have all of the inmates of the jail wear “visitor” wrap around frame eyewear, as 256 of them were bought for him to pass out at the jail at a cost of $435.20.  Of course, this eyewear could be planned for other visitors than the inmates, but the Sheriff will be ready to keep visions clear.

Plastic gloves for the EMA folks apparently just won’t do in a disaster as the taxpayers have been hit up for $776 for 14 mil rubber butyl chemical gloves.

Just in case the EMA folks ever leave the 911 center to go into the field and to set up a hazmat pond, tent or spray someone down, they will have turnout gear, two sets of them, at a cost of $1845.00. You can bet it says 911 center across the back so folks who are on the scene of the disaster will know that if they call 911 the two guys with the letters on their backs won’t be at the 911 center to take their calls.

At the risk of being accused of ‘name-calling’, the bozos at the county government spent $44.34 on a 5 gal gas can for the hazmat wunderkind on July 31, 2004.  Anyone who shops at Wal-Mart, Target or Dyson’s can find a 5 gal. gas can for less than $10. The gas can the county bought should damn well have come full of gas at that price.

One can breathe if one is a hazmat crewman, as 10 SCBA Airpak with 60 min. cylinders were purchased at $1,207 each in 2004.  Hopefully, they will check the oxygen levels once in awhile.  The Sheriff blew $3,138 for 7 self contained breathing apparatus units bought on June 1, 2004. 
On March 16, 2005, Sheriff Dave Zylak, when he was still in office, spent $2,984 each on 6 SCBA Airpak 60 min cylinders.  Then on July 14, 2005 he spent $5,278 for 140 gas mask pouches where the biggest challenge to the agency may be when the boys all stop off at Smokey Joe’s BBQ in Lexington Park and dig into the barbequed beans and North Carolina BBQ.  Then they can dig out the gas masks.

For Tommy Mattingly Jr., son of the county commissioner, to drive back and forth to work with the taxpayers paying all of his gas, the county paid $23,344.61 for a Ford F350 ½ ton truck.  Since 2004, when the truck was purchased, there have been no disasters, thus providing this vehicle to Mattingly for his private use may wear it out before a disaster actually strikes…not that Mattingly will have to respond to a disaster scene. His job is to supervise in the 911 center with the hurricane shutters all closed.

About three weeks ago, the hazmat crews showed up at the scene of a gas line break behind San Souci Shopping Center and gas monitors in the trailer may have been used to tell the hazmat crews how far the gas had traveled. Three of these monitors were bought at a cost of $4,149 which is a lot more expensive than buying canaries.

If you are feeling hosed by now, then consider that the hazmat crew bought 50 feet of 2 ½ inch hose on May 30, 2006 for $306.00.

In the event you wish to tell someone in county government where to go, the county will be well equipped on telling you where to go in that they bought a solar powered traffic director for use in an emergency.  This machine cost $3,950 and since it is solar powered it may not work at night or on a cloudy day. The county could send people in many directions with the purchase of two super duper solar message boards which they bought three days before Christmas in 2005, where it really is Christmas year round in Leonardtown, at a cost of….drum roll….$30,360 each.

These message boards are assigned to public works, those guys who stand in the highway with bright vests on and yell at you in a dialect known only to themselves and their bartender.

$35,000 Fish Finder for Firefighters
Good news for those who may plan to drown in the Potomac River in the area served by the Second District Volunteer Fire Department.  The firefighters were given $35,295 for a Side Scan Sonar Scanner.  The firemen formerly used hooks to drag for bodies or simply waited until the body cavities filled with gas after a few days and floated to the surface.  Now the firemen will be able to find your cold damp body with this $35,295 sonar and on days that they aren’t using it for finding dead people they can use it for finding fish, lots of fish.

Never believe that the Sheriff can’t find a good use for your money. On March 16, 2006, then Sheriff Zylak blew $97,010 for a mobile data browser application software.  Since we don’t know what it is, he clearly didn’t need it, but watch out as Zylak is now in charge of public safety and he is likely to get one of these great devises for that joint. Perhaps this browser tracks all the fresh donut trucks on the highways.

Radios Keep County Workers Connected During Storms

St. Mary’s County has shelled out tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands for radios for staff in such agencies as public works, land use, health department and building services. 

20 such portable radios with 800 mhz with chargers were bought for that agency in 2005 for $983.50 each.
The Health Department bought 16 of these units for $983.50 each. 

Land Use and Growth Management bought 32 of these radios at $983.50 and with the real estate industry in a state of depression and nothing being built, perhaps these 32 staffers will all be assigned to sneak around homes looking for decks that were built without permits and then radio for the code enforcement officer to arrive and slap a violation notice on the house.
The winner in this nonsense has to be the 75 300p EDACS portable radios bought for Public Works at a cost of $983.50 each. 

That’s right, your Congress approved this entire wild spending spree of your tax dollars and now 75 employees of Public Works, not that anyone knew there were 75 employees of that agency, all are walking around with $1,000 radios.  How many of these radios still work or have been sold on Ebay?   Only The Shadow knows for sure!  

Even Recreation and Parks has jumped into the Homeland Security scam.  That department blew $983.50 of your money EACH on 23 such portable radios.  In case of a hurricane, our most likely disaster, some employee of the Rec and Parks will show up and over his or her radio will receive lifesaving instructions on how to re-line your neighborhood ball field with lime that may have washed away in the rain. 

They’ve got it covered.

But nobody beat former Sheriff Zylak in spending money as he nailed the taxpayers once again for 11 encrypted portable radios at a cost of $3,171 each. 

Should a Raghead terrorist land at Point Lookout State Park, sent ashore by rowboat from a passing freighter, a Sheriff’s deputy can run up and ask him for his ID and then radio to Leonardtown that an illegal alien has landed and then Governor Martin O’Malley can enroll his kids in schools at your expense and give him a drivers license and free tuition for college.
Should you have the urge to strangle the Governor or any member of Congress, or even Dumb and Dangerous Dave, don’t send them an email or they will send in infantry or state troopers to arrest you.  Just do it without any warning.
Dumb and Dangerous Dave committed Grand Larceny against the taxpayers on July 19, 2006 when he was still Sheriff; he bought a $122,000 mobile command center.

No more standing behind a police car and having some drunk fire shots at the Sheriff.  He can sit in a heavily equipped command unit and look on Doppler radar as the bullets fly past the command post, tracking the trajectory of each bullet.  Of course, now this expensive unit can sit inside a garage now to keep it out of the weather.
Now we don’t begrudge the animal warden (dog catcher) for having spent nearly $100 for dog food and bowls, but did they really have to buy water?  Given that our most dependable disaster will be a hurricane, the water will be delivered, just leave the bowls out in the rain and don’t give the poor mutts old water that’s been stored around for the past ten years.

The brain dead also spent money labeling the outside of the Emergency Response Trailer for Animal Control, the lettering cost $425 and if any animals can read that, we should get them booked on the Tonight Show.

Yet another expenditure which is understandable in regards to County Government was the purchase of a pitchfork, which was listed as being needed for ‘manure’.  This fancy pitchfork cost $59.40 and at that price it should be sent to every County Commissioners meeting.

With the government spending $90.98 for a cooler for the hazmat boys to keep their beer in, perhaps they ought to try catching a sale at Wal-Mart where there are always falling prices.

Two axes with fiberglass handles cost $379.50. Wow!

The hazmat boys were finally truthful in that they bought 36 fleece masks for $466. 

There are plenty of more items to list but this last one about sums it up.

A bunch of Raghead idiots attacked America in 2001 and ever since, those officials in local, state and federal government have raped the taxpayers in the name of being ready for another attack.