Pension issue ‘must be addressed’
Another County Councilman is weighing in on the issue of possible pension reforms for council members.
Bryan McIntire, the council’s lone Republican, said he believes the current council will have to confront the issue.
“It’s out there,” said McIntire, who represents the 3rd district, including Parkton, part of Cockeysville, and Kingsville. “The public is concerned about it, and it must be addressed.”
McIntire made his comments during a Thursday night phone interview. All seven councilmen were called about the pension issue.
McIntire said pensions and other benefits weren’t part of the equation when he decided to run for office in 1994.
“When I first ran for the job, I didn’t know what the salary was,” McIntire said. “I didn’t know what the perks were. I certainly didn’t know about the pension. Nothing could have been further from my mind.”
McIntire is finishing his fourth term and is running for a fifth.
McIntire’s four terms entitle him to leave office and immediately collect 80 percent of his $54,000 annual council salary.
Should McIntire win in November, he’ll join Democrat Vince Gardina, 54, as a five-term councilman eligible for 100 percent. Gardina, who announced in September that he will not seek a sixth term, is eligible to immediately begin collecting a pension equal to his current council salary.
“The idea was never ours, and I never gave it a second thought,” said McIntire, adding, “I certainly think a change is in order.”
Any solution requires public input, he said.
“I haven’t heard that much input from the public,” McIntire said. “I think we will be getting it, especially since it’s less than a year before the primary and about a year before the general election.”