Chestertown Wards 2 and 4 voters head to the polls on Tuesday, November 5. South Queen Street resident Tom Herz is challenging two-term incumbent Linda Kuiper. Ward 4 Candidate Meghan Efland is running unopposed to fill the seat currently held by retiring Councilman Marty Stetson, who served three terms.
The Chestertown Spy has strived to deliver thorough coverage of the candidates and the issues. Visit Election 2019 where The Spy has compiled our print and video coverage, including video interviews with all three 2019 candidates, as well as video coverage and print reporting of the League of Women Voters Candidate Forum.
As voters head to the polls, The Spy believes a great number of residents want the Chestertown Town Council to restore public confidence in the town’s financial sustainability. Spy reader Jeff Maguire hit the heart of the issue: Chestertown is taxing its residents out of their homes, and they cannot sell them because the taxes are so high.
Maguire echoes a consistent desire: Town council members need to bring meaningful accountability and reform to Town Hall operations. Maguire points to annual tax increases and aggressive assessments that have put him on track to experience a doubling of his home’s property taxes in 15 years. Shifting police duties from the town to the county may seem sensible, but the public and the Kent County Commissioners have concluded it’s “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” for which there is no apparent political will. Town residents like their local police department.
The long term picture is not so bleak. The marina renovation is now done and is beginning to meet operating expectations. Additionally, the impact of the Mayor and Council’s risk with Enterprise Zone tax benefits has resulted in substantial commercial investment, evidenced by the LaMotte Chemical facility expansion and Dixon Valve & Coupling’s decision to stay in Chestertown and build its international headquarters and industrial campus. In the years to come, the tax incentives will expire, and as Mayor Chris Cerino once said, “Ten years from now the Mayor and Council’s bank account will be flush.”
It is important to remember that when Cerino and his slate took office, they found a grim picture: empty storefronts, stagnant tax revenues, aging population, risk of losing a significant employer, and the ill-advised 2012 Marina Purchase Bond Agreement that was approved by then-Mayor Margo Bailey without public input, a council vote, or a professional advisor. The terms of the bonds prohibited commercial development and saddled the taxpayers with a $150,000 annual bond payment with no prepayment before 2032. It stifled any refinancing to accomplish critical infrastructure improvements. Sources close to the financing contend that with proper advice and council input, more favorable terms could have been secured, but questions were never asked. Fortuitously, Cerino was able to build a coalition that included the town council, a banker, and citizens to finance the marina renovations so grants could reimburse the effort.
The Spy recommends several steps that would restore confidence.
Model 10-Year Tax Revenue Impact of Economic Development Incentives on long-term revenue
Local governments cannot budget by speculating on revenue sources. Still, they can inform themselves and the taxpayers by modeling revenue projections from taxes generated from commercial investment underway as a result of Opportunity Zone investment, Enterprise Zone tax incentives, and other economic development incentives.
Maguire and his fellow taxpayers are the unsung heroes who have been footing the bill for the marina bond deal payment, as well as the tax hikes to offset the county’s withdrawal of the tax differential payment.
Prepare a succession plan for a town manager
Succession planning for Chestertown should not be the 800-pound gorilla in the council chambers. Chestertown has been well served by its Town Manager, Bill Ingersoll, for over 44 years. Ingersoll is approaching 70, which by all measures, is an outlying retirement age for civil servants. The town has not replaced a manager since Ingersoll succeeded Bill Nicholson in the 1970s. The council should study and develop a modern job description, including considering the requirement of a Masters in Public Administration or Public Accounting, experience with economic development and other best management practices.
Build a productive relationship with the county
The Kent County Commissioners and the council should work cooperatively to restore some portion of the tax differential that the commissioners rescinded, which created a $250,000 hole in the town’s annual budget. We need cooperation and resolution of this issue so that we can focus on our future. Kent County and Chestertown are close to an economic boom that could just as easily slip away. Kent County has invested heavily in a fiber-optic network, while other jurisdictions took no action. We are poised to be a high tech hub if we work cooperatively for the outcome.
Outside investors are watching to see if this small, rural county has the ability to work together work the future. The county has adopted two goals that will require cooperation: 25,000 residents by 2024 and rolling the red carpet out for business. This means our leaders must support our public school system so it is attractive to prospective employees; enact tax and zoning policies that promote economic sustainability; and commit to a unified effort to secure the future of our hospital.
We encourage all Ward 2 and 4 voters to get out and participate. We plan to have preliminary election results on Tuesday night.
–The Chestertown Spy
Steve Payne says
Doubling of the RE taxes over 15 years is actually lower than increases statewide. Values have increased more than that.
Chris Cerino says
I truly hope that the Spy has the same “accountability” in its reporting that it is calling for from elected public officials. There is quite a lot of misinformation in this article, including:
– The bond for the Marina will be FULLY PAID OFF by 2032, and can be prepaid as soon as 2022
– To say that the Marina was purchased “without public input, a council vote, or a professional advisor” is simply false. This issue was discussed in open public meetings on numerous occasions during Mayor Bailey’s tenure, the council did in fact vote on purchasing the facility, and a detailed study on the project was undertaken by a Town-initiated Port Commission
– I do not ever recall saying “Ten years from now the Mayor and Council’s bank account will be flush.” I simply don’t speak that way. It is true that once the tax abatements from the Enterprize Zone are phased out, the next Mayor will have a significant windfall from the Dixon and LaMotte expansions, among other projects
– When a statement such as “Chestertown is taxing its residents out of their homes, and they cannot sell them because the taxes are so high” is made, there should be at least one example given to support such a dramatic claim. It is true, the Town has increased the tax rate in the past two years from $0.37 to $0.43 per $100 of assessed value, an increase of approximately 16%. Has this really driven people out of the community? If so, please cite concrete examples. The county tax rate is $1.02 per $100, nearly 2.5x the Town rate. Is this also contributing to the mass exodus implied by the author?
– I strongly oppose the language stating that Bill Ingersoll’s tenure at Town Manager is the “800 pound elephant in the Council chambers.” Bill has served the Town admirably and he will retire when he sees fit, and not a second sooner. At that time, the Town will work to hire his replacement.
I could go on, but the point is this: PLEASE make sure you have your facts straight, and that you back up dramatic claims with hard evidence, before publishing pieces like this.
Chris Cerino
Mayor, Chestertown
The Spy says
Dear Mayor Cerino:
Thank you for reading The Spy and we appreciate your comments.
The Spy stands by our assessment of the adoption process and impact of the 2012 Marina Purchase Bond Agreement. We do stand corrected that the prepayment prohibition expires in 2022, not 2032. Thank you for pointing that out. By the time renovation and construction plans were underway, the punitive effect of the prepayment prohibition proved to eliminate the marina real property as security and created a challenge to secure multi-million dollar financing of the renovation and construction. As we stated in our editorial, it was fortuitous that you managed to cobble the bridge financing together to complete the marina project.
To the extent that you believe your Enterprise Zone characterization was misquoted, you recognized a future revenue windfall from the Enterprise Zone experiment. We also made no suggestion of a mass exodus of residents fleeing higher property taxes, but the Spy did recognize that Jeff Maguire’s well-stated concerns and frustrations about the property tax growth, affordability and real estate marketability should not be dismissed.
Mr. Maguire is a homeowner and business owner investing in Chestertown. He is not alone in this frustration. The concerns over sustainability deserve a response. Developing models of future revenues to explain the progress of Enterprise Zone investment would be a start.
The Spy suggested the town council establish a succession plan, not to retire Bill Ingersoll. Succession planning is about the “what” (job description) and the “how” (the process), not about the “who” and the “when.” Our editorial recognized the great value of Mr. Ingersoll’s service and that his eventual retirement will create big shoes to fill. Undertaking succession planning now permits organized consideration of the future of town management and the succession process before Mr. Ingersoll retires. The value of planning is that you have a decided course to follow when circumstances require.
The Spy
Gibson Anthony says
From the Editorial “and the ill-advised 2012 Marina Purchase Bond Agreement that was approved by then-Mayor Margo Bailey without public input, a council vote, or a professional advisor. ”
Would the Spy please elaborate on the distinction between the Bond decision and the original decision to purchase the Marina?
The quote above is misleading because it appears to wrap those things together. The Council vote to purchase the Marina took place after significant work by the Port Study Committee. As part of the Port Study Committee, two very seasoned business executives spearheaded a lot of work to develop a detailed business model and planning document which outlined the necessary steps two years into the future. Unfortunately, after the vote to purchase, there was no follow-through on a primary recommendation of the study, which was to create a commission that would focus on the financing elements and developing relationships with State officials. The lack of a group to focus on the marina and the multi-year delay in action made Mayor Cerino’s job much harder.
It seems like the Editorial mischaracterized how the marina purchase took place by leaving out part of the story.