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By Kenneth C.
Rossignol
ST. MARY'S TODAY
LEONARDTOWN (Dec.
18, 2008) ---The St.
Mary’s Board of
Commissioners, on a
4-1 vote, at their
meeting this past
week, have gone
ahead with plans to
buy a 250 acre farm
on the outskirts of
Leonardtown, just
off of Rt. 245 at
Hayden Farm Road,
and are proposing to
pay $5 million
dollars for the
farm, as reported
last week in ST.
MARY’S TODAY.
But at this week’s
meeting, the board
announced that the
public hearing which
is required as part
of this proposed
action will be held
on Christmas Eve at
9 am.
That means if
interested citizens
want to have a say
on this purchase,
they must stop their
Christmas Eve plans
and if they have
already left to go
out of town by
booking a flight
months ago, must
find a last-minute
flight and book it
at full price in
order to be present
to protest this
extraordinary waste
of tax money.
The Board, with the
exception of
Commissioner Larry
Jarboe (R. Golden
Beach), is prepared
to spend $1.5
million more for the
farm which a local
builder walked away
from 18 months ago.
At
the same time that
the board is going
to pay more money
for this farm, all
other real estate is
dropping in value.
Holding a public
hearing on an
important action of
county government on
a holiday is without
precedent and
clearly is designed
to prevent the
public from
participating.
Two of the St.
Mary’s Commissioners
who were elected to
a third consecutive
term in 2006,
Democrats Tommy
Mattingly and Dan
Raley, have been
pursuing a course of
increased spending
and higher taxes
since that election
while the other two,
Democrat Jackie
Russell and
Republican Kenny
Dement have joined
them in their
efforts to increase
the cost and size of
government.
Dement and Russell,
can seek re-election
in 2010 while voters
dissatisfied with
Raley and Mattingly
have no recourse as
Maryland law does
not allow for
impeachment, leaving
armed mobs storming
Leonard Hall,
cutting off the
heads of the serial
tax-hiking offenders
and putting the
heads on pikes as a
warning to other
officials, the only
alternative.
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