Donna,
Robert Gaudette is director of DNR's Boating Services. The top guy is DNR Secretary John Griffin, who has been there for quite some time.
For those of you who are not familiar with DNR it stands for "Do Nothing Right!" at least in the eyes of most of the outdoor writers who have covered DNR for decades on end. The agency seems to always need more money, but can never seem to be able to perform the job for which it was created--protect and enhance the natural resources of Maryland for ALL its citizens.
DNR is very good at studying things--everything. And, this takes lots of time, personnel and money. They don't, however, seem to be real good at fixing things, though. They tend to cry poor mouth at every legislative session, then say they could do a wonderful job of fixing things if the legislature would just give them more money. So, every year for decades they got more money, at least until a few years ago when a handful of legislators said "What the Hell happened to the money we've been providing all along?" So, the money tree dried up for a couple years, at least on paper, and DNR, like the State, developed a "Structural Deficit."
For those who are not familiar with a Structural Deficit, it simply is a proposal to spend money that you don't have. Lets say you have a $100 in your pocket, but you find a really nice dink on Ebay for $500. You and I cannot purchase the dink because we don't have sufficient funds to do so. The government, however, buys the dink, can't pay he bill, then turns to you and asks for enough money to cover the deficit. In this case, it's an increase in boating registration fees, which in reality is nothing more than a tax on the privilege to use your boat, a vessel that you've already paid a 6-percent sales tax on, and paid to have it registered two years ago.
Now, here's the neat part about Structural Deficits. Lets say there's a major uproar about the proposed increase on boating registration fees (taxes). The boating public says "DNR, we're not gonna' pay you double the amount you got last year." DNR says OK, we'll make some budget cuts instead. We'll cut 50-percent, which will lower the deficit. Of course, the cut is 50-percent of the proposed increase--not a 50-percent cut in their overall budget. In fact, their overall budget will be increased--just not as much as they would like.
The question you must ask yourself is "What will I get for my boat registration fee (tax) increase other than a new sticker and registration card? NOTHIN! The bay's not going to get cleaner and you will not see any more DNR police patrolling the bay.
The next time Bob Gaudette spins his tale in your neighborhood, ask some pointed questions:
Provide us with a comprehensive list of the new projects you have in mind, and a detailed expense report of just how much those projects will cost?
What benefit will these projects be to the boating public in our area of the bay?
Why does DNR's Boating Service not dredge the approach channels to state launch ramps?
Why did DNR do away with the free launch at state parks for seniors with park passes or those with an annual park pass?
These and many more questions should be asked, but since I've been blackballed from DNR press conferences I no longer have the opportunity to put forth questions such as those above. Why was I blackballed from DNR press conferences? Because I asked those questions, and I recorded the answers on tape. John Griffin apparently didn't want to be directly quoted when answering a hardball question.
Get out the KY--you know what's coming next,
Gary
Connect with Facebook
82Likes
