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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Mr. Holmes –<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>In regards to the question concerning the town being in good shape or not, that was spoken to at length with a presentation from our independent auditor last month. The Town Council in fact inquired on many of the points you raise and were told that as far as municipalities go, we are doing all the right things and are on firm financial ground. The firm praised the audit controls we have in place as well as the accounting practices and standards we adhere to operationally.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The questions you raise, were discussed at length at Legislative meetings; I invite you to attend them in the future – they can be quite informative and you can have influence and impact if you wish to speak about them before they are voted upon. 2012-CR-03 does not relate at all with 2012-OR-12. 2012-CR-03 relates to codifying language to potentiate TIFs (Tax Increment Financing) and any how they are handled within Chapter 619. One very important point to note concerning this Charter Amendment is that it is being contemplated based upon legal advice to the town to address language that does not specifically include nor exclude; that is the town could potentially create a TIF without modifying 619 but to err on the side of caution we are updating language to include modern financing tools. This, if anything, relates in the immediate future to the Cafritz project, and it may not be used at all. The town is not amending its actual limit, a limit Riverdale Park is well under.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>2012-OR-12 was passed solely on the legal advice from the town attorney that to make an official offer to an independent land holder the Mayor and Council have to specifically delineate that in the budget. Since budgets are passed in advance of a fiscal year by Ordinance – i.e. June 2012 for the July 2012-June 2013 fiscal year, we had to amend the CIP budget to line item that purchase. It is unlikely a purchase will be concluded in the 2012-2013 fiscal year, but the town cannot even make the official offer without amending the budget allocations. This does not raise the budget, it re-allocates monies, and it has nothing to do with raising the statutory debt limit. It is a legislative mechanism that under advice of legal counsel we had to draft and pass to comply with Maryland law. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I would caution you to let the legal process to proceed before arriving at conclusory findings of fact based upon what is read in the newspaper or stated by an attorney’s advocating a position they are being paid to put forward. Cases like this will ultimately be tried in a court of law, not the court of public opinion based firmly upon precedence of prior case law and the facts of the individual case.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Respectfully <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Jonathan<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Jonathan W. Ebbeler<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>4711 Oliver Street<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Councilman – Ward 1<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Chairman – Economic Development Committee<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>