With a political battle brewing in Annapolis over a plan to shift the costs of teacher pensions to the county governments, Charles County joined a number of Maryland counties in holding media events to raise awareness of the plan’s fiscal impacts to the county and county schools.
School officials joined the commissioners in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the proposal and its impacts on Charles County residents.
“If approved, this proposal would have a profound fiscal impact, approximately $240 million on counties statewide,” Charles County Commissioner President Candice Quinn Kelly (D) said. “That figure is rising fast.
“We all agree that education is important and we will continue to work together to maintain adequate funding levels for our educational institutions. These are tough times for everyone and this proposed legislation poses a challenge to us because it would carry a major financial burden. That is why we find it important to inform citizens of this potential shift and what may happen as a result of this proposed legislation.”
“Governor O’Malley’s current budget proposes a dramatic shift of costs on to county governments for the coming year which has the potential to severely affect our county budget,” Charles County Commissioner Vice President Reuben Collins (D) said. “In tough economic times, we appreciate the governor holding off on this proposal as long as he has but it is clear this addition to the state budget does not bode well for the counties.
“The Administration has cited several “cost drivers” to justify making this shift, one of which is salary increases for teachers, which are negotiated by the school boards, not county government. The county has no control over or influence on these cost drivers, but we would bear the burden of the costs. This plan would shift funding responsibility for all teacher retirement costs (both pension and social security) to become a half-state, half-local responsibility. Currently, school board budgets include all the funding for social security, while the state budget provides funding for the state-run pension system. The shift would begin in fiscal year 2013, but the amount of local responsibility is expected to increase in FY 2014 and beyond.”
“Like most other counties throughout the state, we are bracing for a tough budget year,” Charles County Commissioner Ken Robinson (D: 1st) said. “Income from property assessments, our number one revenue source, continues to decline. And, although revenues are down, more than half of the county budget is off limits thanks to strict state requirements and funding formulas.
“The price tag for the teacher pension shift will be a steep one. In Charles County, the new county cost for the coming year is 6.8 million dollars. The fiscal staff in Annapolis says that would grow immediately to 8.8 million the next year, and all the way to 10.3 million over the next three years. That kind of burden would put massive pressure onto the county’s taxpayers and to the public services our citizens deserve and depend on.”
“All of the previous proposals regarding teacher pensions in recent years included a phased-in shift; this proposal shifts everything at once,” Charles County Commissioner Debra Davis (D: 2nd) said. “Three years ago, the Senate passed a plan that would have shifting zero dollars the first year, 60 million dollars in the second year, and then gradually phased in costs from there. This plan shifts the entire 240 million dollars at one time. We want the public to know that the proposed pension shift affects public schools, community colleges, and libraries the same way, but has been universally shortened to ‘
