To The Editor: In October I wrote about how Mayor Ernie Troiano and Commissioner William Davenport were hiding their failed tax plan that had dug the town into a $3 million hole. Things have gotten a lot worse. Now the town is nearly $5 million short on its budget and Troiano is making Wildwood taxpayers pay for his mistakes. I have gone to the last six commissioners meetings and listened to all the mayor’s excuses on why the city is in such bad financial shape, and how he blames everyone except himself. Other communities have the same financial pressures on them, but they are not having a 30 percent increase in their taxes. The difference is that Wildwood has had a leadership that has repeatedly mismanaged the finances of the community. Troiano is in his 10th year in office, sixth year as mayor. Wildwood’s financial problems are a direct result of his policies, his contracts, his tax plan and his repeated poor judgment in managing the city. The mayor’s election tax plan was full of lies and gimmicks. We went from a $3 million surplus to nearly $5 million in debt. That is an $8 million swing to the negative in less than a year. It is hard to imagine the level of incompetence to accomplish this. Also, both Troiano and Davenport voted to exceed the 4 percent tax cap, breaking their campaign promise not to. Since becoming mayor, Troiano has increased the burden on taxpayers by over 64 percent. Twenty-five percent of this increase was hidden in the 2005 revaluation. Instead if fixing the problem, Troiano wants to continue the poor financial practices that got the town in this situation. Troiano said, “this is how it has always been done.” The plan to sell the bayside again is a non-renewable income source. Chris Woods (city clerk) called this type of financing a “One Trick Pony.” This type of financing is like treating a cancer with a band-aid; the underlying problem still exists, and is never treated. Furthermore the city has over 1,000 condos for sale. The town does not need more condos to further dilute the market and decrease property values. The mayor’s only solution is increasing the ratable base through high-rise development. This is known as the “Ratable Chase.” This is where new ratables never offset the infrastructure needed to support them. Wildwood is a textbook example on how the “Ratable Chase” does not work. Wildwood underwent a tremendous building boom, yet the taxpayers did not get a tax break with all the new condos in town. The amount of development that occurred would be equal to two of the mayor’s high-rise projects. Yet the majority of older properties actually saw their taxes triple with the increase in ratables. It would be three to four years before any high-rise would be completed. What is the mayor’s plan to reduce taxes during this time? With today’s economy and real estate market, it is highly unlikely anyone will invest in such a risky venture. The mayor’s effort to cut taxes is too little too late. It is time that Troiano resigns. He has been in office too long and has failed to properly manage the city’s budget. His election tax plan is a disaster. If Troiano remains in office, the mismanagement will continue and taxes will continue to rise. Troiano, resign now. ANTHONY TOTAH Wlldwood