[RP TownTalk] Repeal of RP's Business Grant Program

Tue Jun 7 22:03:24 UTC 2016

All -

I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention that the Town Council voted last night to repeal Resolution 2013-R-15 ( http://riverdaleparkmd.info/2013-R-15%20RetailCommercial%20Tenant%20Grant%20Program.pdf )

As pointed out in my prior post, the Council was prepared to act in violation of the law based on their agenda.  The Resolution was voted into law in the June 2013 legislative meeting with an unanimous vote:  http://riverdaleparkmd.info/2013%200603%20Legislative%20Mtg%20Minutes.pdf

At last night's meeting there were discussions had that defy logic.  This program has been in effect for almost three years and has awarded numerous grants in the past all following the identical administrative practice of being submitted to the Economic Development Committee and increased, decreased, or awarded as requested by a majority vote of the Committee members.  Supported businesses have included:

1)      Bikram Yoga

2)      Town Center Market

3)      Divine Beauty
Councilmembers Thompson and Lingua voted affirmatively for these project grants and Mayor Archer was in attendance for some of the discussions and/or awards.  At no point in time over the last 3 years has the process been confusing, objectionable, or unwanted/unneeded.  At no point in time over the last 3 years since the legislation has been in effect has the Council ever voted on a single project.

The Mayor opined at the meeting about any expenditure over 20k needing full council vote.  He is mistaken.  He is making reference to Sections 622/623 of our Charter which govern Purchasing/Contracts & Competitive Bids; economic development grants and appropriations have nothing to do with a bidding or procurement process.  The budget was duly appropriated via a majority vote of the Council and as long as the budget line item is not exceeded, the grant program, established with a unanimous vote, is not in violation of our Charter, the laws of the County, the laws of MD, or the Constitution.  If the Mayor had questions, he could have asked our town attorney for advice prior to the meeting vs. opining on the spot.  A six term Mayor, our Chief Executive, and STILL currently our Chief Financial Officer should have a better grasp on what law currently applies and judiciously use legal counsel when there are questions not readily grasped.

Keep in mind, if I had not addressed the question in my post, the Mayor and Council were prepared to act and vote on the grant although the presiding law clearly showed their inability to do so.  They instead acted to repeal the legislation (signing it on the spot) with no plan to replace it.

In my post on this in May ( http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/2016-May/019658.html ), where I expressly stated to CM Thompson that it was his committee and up to him (and now CM Lingua) to act on the requests of almost $1mil in new development (especially with 160k left in the budget) the ball was left in the Committee's court on how to act.  I find it troubling that a program that was clearly working and bearing fruit has suddenly been deemed so unnecessary that the Council haphazardly voted to repeal it.  The one thing businesses hate is uncertainty and this guarantees  a lack of certainty on what the town's current economic development strategy and position is.

Although I asked the direct question to the Mayor ( http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/2016-May/019752.html ) of what his intent was with the grants and the program, there has been no direct response to this constituent question.  With last night's repeal of the legislation after the Mayor and Council were called out on what would have been actions in violation of law we have the answer now - NOTHING!

At least the minutes from the RP Business Association do shed light on some of the items I had been asking about.  In last month's meeting the Mayor attended and the following points of information were recorded:

1)       The May 31st RP Council Meeting will include withdrawing from eminent domain suit from Jey's Auto.

2)      Withdrawal from new town hall project "due to increased costs, lost revenue and lost grant"  (perhaps the mysterious 'bond proceeds' the town balanced in budget on this year)

3)      "We won't see any revenue from the Cafritz project until about 2019-2020"

It is unfortunate that direct questions remain unanswered.  It is unfortunate that this administration, due to a refusal over 3 years to follow the law and file for eminent domain, now reverses 4 pieces of unanimous legislation and guarantees our most southernly Route 1  property will remain derelict in the near term.  It is unfortunate that seven-figure development opportunities will not be supported and likely not happen.  It is unfortunate that promises made during the Cafritz negotiations are now being broken and the town as a whole is paying and the project is not self-sufficient due to an exhaustion of our surpluses.  It is unfortunate that the Mayor and Council will not publically address the finance questions brought up in previous posts.

Additionally, I would appreciate it if the Finance Committee and/or the Mayor, our CFO, would address a situation that happened about two years ago.  It was stated at a Finance Committee meeting that it was believed our liabilities were overstated due to a potential conversion issue when the town moved to Quickbooks several years ago.  It was stated then that over $900k  seemed to be a duplication and they would be writing it off.  I would like to hear from our elected officials on this issue and if this almost $1mil writeoff/writedown of debt turned out not to be a ghost liability and is currently contributing to what is bound to be significant tax increases next year.

JWE

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