I’m getting reports from readers saying there’s trouble listening to the audio of the Personnel and Salary Advisory Board that I posted yesterday. The common link seems to be the use of Internet Explorer.
I hear Firefox works pretty good. There is a load time though so be patient.
Here’s a direct link if you want to try Youtube.
Here’s the audio of Wednesday’s meeting of the Baltimore County Personnel and Salary Advisory Board. During the meeting, the board unanimously approved recommending salary increases for the county executive and the County Council of 8 percent and 2 percent, respectively. If approved by the council, the increases would take effect in December 2010.
Audio was recorded by the board and released upon my request.
This portion of the meeting covers just the discussion and vote on the two salary proposals and was edited by me, as was the video.
One by one the county’s seven councilmen are speaking about the possibility of reforming the pension plan that has been in place for the last 50 years.
The issue attracted attention after it was revealed that Democratic Councilman Vince Gardina would retire after completing an unprecedented fifth term and be eligible immediately for a pension equal to 100 percent of his current $54,000 annual salary.
Since then, some on the council, including Gardina, have expressed an opinion about possible changes to the system. Not everyone, however, has made up his mind.
“It’s something I haven’t thought about,” said Councilman John Olszewski Sr., a three-term Democrat who represents the 7th District, including Dundalk, Essex and part of Rosedale.
Current Council Chairman Joseph Bartenfelder said he wanted to cap council pensions at 60 percent 10 years ago but had no support. Two weeks ago, he said he’d sponsor a bill with a similar cap if he could find at least three more votes.
Olszewski said he couldn’t comment on Bartenfelder’s idea, repeating that it wasn’t something he had thought about.
Would you support an effort to reform the pension system, I asked Olszewski.
Olszewski smiled and said, “You never say never.”
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. (more…)
The current controversy about pensions for County Council members is a no-win scenario regardless of what the council may or may not do in the way of reform, according to former County Executive Don Hutchinson.
“There’s no way they can win on it,” Hutchinson said, adding that voters would likely see any action as “nothing more than reaction to a story of exposure.”
“I don’t think this council can do anything about it,” Hutchinson said. “I think the council, any council, could have changed it, but they chose not to. The new council can talk about it, consider it, discuss it. I think this council is best to leave it alone.”
The two-term Democratic executive talked about the pension issue during an interview about a possible return to politics.
Hutchinson said he understood why the pension issue has captured the attention of the public.
“I think that the average man and woman always look at somebody else’s life in comparison to their own and what they know,” Hutchinson said. “They know that when they retire, regardless of the job they had or what they’ve done, they know they’re not going to get full compensation for their retired years. They know they’re income is not 100 percent of what it was when they left their job.
“That’s all they know, and that’s what they think is fair. They think what is fair for everybody is what has been fair for them.”
So is the public wrong? (more…)
I’ll be covering the County Council meeting today live on Twitter.
Biggest issue on the agenda is the speed camera contract. The council will also consider a bill that will will require scrap metal dealers to track certain information that police can use to help solve thefts of items such as copper pipe, gutters and metal siding.
You can follow along at Twitter.com/bpsears
Del. Todd Schuler announced Saturday that he will run for the County Council rather than seek a second term in the House of Delegates.
The announcement, made over the weekend at a campaign fundraising event, was not entirely unexpected. Schuler talked to me about running for the seat back in February 2008.
Schuler, a Democrat from Overlea, now represents the 8th District in the House of Delegates. He said he will run in 2010 for the 6th District council seat currently held by four-term Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder, who is running for county executive in 2010. (more…)
Fred Homan’s influence on county budget and policy is widely discussed among county employees and elected officials, who frequently refer to county operations as “The World of Fred.”
But is the former budget director and current county administrative officer so important that his absence could require the council to stop meeting?
The council was halfway through its 18-minute meeting Monday night and had just finished voting on the five bills on its agenda when Councilman Bryan McIntire asked the question. (more…)
A bill that would require daily electronic reporting of sales of scrap metal has been withdrawn.
The bill was to have a hearing tomorrow before the County Council.
Don Mohler, a spokesman for County Executive Jim Smith, said the administration pulled the bill so that some changes could be made.
“We could have moved forward with amendments, but we think this will make for a cleaner bill,” Mohler said. (more…)
Today’s local government lesson: You have to be fast if you want to claim credit for something good.
That comes courtesy of Councilman Kevin Kamenetz, who was one of a half-dozen county officials who were present to announce that crime in Baltimore County decreased during the first six months of 2009. The decrease is a continuation of a trend that stretches back more than a decade and has resulted in crime rates per 100,000 people that are as low as the rates in 1976, when the county had fewer people within its borders, according to Police Chief Jim Johnson. (more…)