According to a recent News Journal article (which can be found here), Delaware is the 2nd slowest State in the nation in spending our transportation stimulus money. From the article:
Time to pick up the pace, Delaware. That’s the message a Minnesota congressman overseeing the federal stimulus program sent to Gov. Jack Markell recently. The state had spent only 27 percent of its transportation money by the end of August, the second slowest rate in the nation. Only Virginia had spent less. [emphasis added]
Given the overly large number of State employees Delaware has, I can see where the bureaucracy might slow us down. But then I thought about it some more. Governor Markell has repeatedly said what a great job the Lt. Governor is doing, and the Lt. Governor is in charge of the State’s stimulus spend (That announcement by Gov. Markell can be found here). Is this what Governor Markell considers a “great job”? Second to last??? Of course, the Lt. Governor isn’t actually working as Lt. Governor full time because he couldn’t live on his $75,000 a year Lt. Governor salary. So, he went out and got another job as a private attorney (you can find a previous post on his non-State moonlighting activity here).
With the Lt. Governor busy billing hours, he had to hire embattled crony and former Health and Social Services Secretary Vince Meconi to a 3-month job that has now extended for over 6 months. You can find the details of the $165,000+ a year that the embattled and incompetent former Secretary receives from Delaware taxpayers here. To quote from the Lt. Governor in late July:
Vince [Meconi] is the only person in the state who is currently devoted full-time to management of the federal stimulus package. He is doing a job that is being handled in other state by multiple full time employees. As we enter the fall and the state begins incurring significant reporting obligations for its stimulus funds, his work will become even more important. I therefore request that he be permitted to continue in the role that he is currently playing for the state.
So, to sum up taxpayers are paying $200,000+ of salaries, benefits and pensions only to ensure that Delaware is the 2nd worst stimulus-spender in the nation…
Governor Markell, who ran his campaign on his business ability and get-it-done attitude, is unable to move stimulus money through Lt. Governor Denn’s office because the Lt. Governor is working during the day as a private attorney. So, the Lt. Governor, who once served as Governor Minner’s lawyer, hires Minner-crony Meconi (which rhymes nicely) to oversee stimulus expenditures. Sec. Meconi, true to form, is unable to accomplish this task.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate continues to rise in the State.
Agreed, but the real sin is the misuse of the Transportation Trust Fund which essentially leaves Delaware about $1 billion in deficit.
This theft took place over many years and by both parties.
I still think it would be a good idea to lease rt 1 for a Billion or so.
Delawareans spend over 100 hours a year stuck in traffic, almost one solid week.
Mike Protack
Leasing Route 1 might make economic sense. The problem is that rational economists do not make government spending decisions. Dover politicians do.
Therefore, you are suggesting that we hand a one-time $1 billion to the same members of the General Assembly who raided the Transportation Trust fund and who have now raided the Tobacco Settlement money. At the end of the road’s lease, you would have a road returned to the State that needs to be rebuilt (at a cost of billions of dollars) and no money left.
I’d leave it just as it is.
[…] Meconi. We have blogged about him before regarding “stimulus”. That post can be found here. The short story is that he has been hired by the Lt. Governor to do the “stimulus” […]
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