Ocean City property owners are now receiving their assessment notices and discovering first hand what happens when a real estate market basically collapses.Three property owners we spoke with this week saw annual decreases in property values of 2 percent, 7 percent and 11 percent. One property owner saw an increase of 4 percent because his… Read more »
A Good Deed RecognizedEditor: The Eastern Shore is a wonderful, friendly place to live and visit, isn’t it? I used to think so, but I had to be reminded again this year.I was checking out at the Super Fresh grocery store in White Marlin Mall when I realized that I no longer had my wallet… Read more »
Each year I give some predictions for the coming year in this space. Here’s a look at how I fared with what I thought might take place this year. Some of my thoughts turned out to be accurate prognostications, some look ridiculous today and some are still hanging in the balance.On The Money:— I guessed… Read more »
What Others Are SayingState’s Budget Blues Unlike Any Of LateForget the comparatively minor cash crunch that Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. faced as governor. Even the three-year budget debacle that began in 1991 under William Donald Schaefer has been eclipsed. Last week, it became official: The national recession is pulverizing the state budget like no other… Read more »
Support Needed To Reduce OC Tax RateEditor:(The following letter was addressed to the taxpayers of Ocean City with a copy forwarded to this newspaper for publicatin.)I thank you for your vote of confidence in my candidacy for Ocean City Council. I find the job of serving you challenging and exciting. We are in a serious… Read more »
The ongoing cleansing of the department budgets in Ocean City has led to some interesting revelations. In last week’s coverage of cost-cutting moves for the transportation department, it was revealed the town gives away approximately $122,000 worth of free rides on the Boardwalk tram and about 80 percent of that figure was used by about… Read more »
Night Swimming Ordinance A MustTwo men were honored recently by the Ocean City Mayor and Council for the courageous rescue of three swimmers in the middle of the night last summer. The incident drew the council’s attention at the time with some recommending the council should put a law on the books outlawing night swimming… Read more »
Schools Must PinchLike Rest Of UsEditor:In reading the various articles this week regarding our Board of Education and how they cannot decrease their budget by 3 percent, I have this question, “Has the Board of Education ever turned a light switch off in any of the schools?”If they did, we would save not only money but reduce energy costs. Heating… Read more »
Regarding this week’s website decision by Ocean City, what’s interesting to me is how the council may or may not have looked over a key part of its code in approving the $178,000 expenditure for the new website to MGH Advertising. Not wanting to make the proverbial mountain out of a molehill here, I called… Read more »
OC Website Process Left No Other ChoiceIn a surprising turn of events, the Ocean City Mayor and Council voted 4-3 on Tuesday to award the redesign of the town’s website to its own advertising firm, MGH Advertising, rather than seek price quotes and design ideas from other agencies.About a month ago, members of the council… Read more »