An expansion of the Baltimore County Council would mean a significant increase in pensions

Next week, Baltimore County residents will learn the fate of a ballot initiative to expand the County Council, a measure aimed at bringing diversity to the all-male and predominantly white council. Meanwhile, the seven city councilors will find out whether they will receive a large salary and pension increase as a result.

The charter change on the ballot clarifies that the council member position, now part-time, will become a full-time position. What it doesn't explicitly mention is that classifying council members as full-time jobs will mean a large increase in pensions.

The pension change was not a driving factor in this legislation, council members say. In fact, most council members opposed the expansion until Council President Izzy Patoka convinced enough colleagues to put the proposal on the fall ballot. The measure also stipulated that the county would use new political boundaries that city councilors had drawn with an eye to maintaining the current balance between Republicans and Democrats. (It's now 4-3; under the new maps it will likely be 5-4.) But a convergence of legislation, some of which was passed before council members Mike Ertel and Pat Young were on the council, has led to that the council will benefit from the expansion in their retirement years.

What are the relevant laws?

In 2022, Council President Julian Jones, a West Side Democrat, introduced the bill 56-22. This would have repealed a provision passed in 2010 that limited pension benefits to 60% of their salary. Then-City Councilor Kevin Kamenetz introduced the cap because it became clear that a colleague who had served five four-year terms could receive lifetime pension benefits equal to a full salary. (It was former five-term city councilman Vince Gardina who retired from the city council and then took a position as director of the Department of Environmental Protection and Stability, effectively drawing two full salaries.)

Kamenetz ran for district executive as a reformer, but didn't want to upset his fellow council members, which is why the bill only applied to future council members. Kamenetz died in May 2018 while serving as district executive. But Jones said he always thought the cap was unfair.

Many people opposed a full repeal, so the council amended the bill to increase the maximum pension benefit for a council member who has served at least 16 years to 70% of their salary. That means if you earned $100,000 per year, you would receive $70,000 per year in retirement benefits in retirement.

With a more generous cap in place, the next task was to address compensation. As salaries rise, pension benefits also rise.

In 2023, Jones codified executive and stock compensation with Bill 8-23. This increased a city council member's salary range from $69,000 to $78,000 for the term that began in December 2023. If the council expansion passes, the leader, now named Patoka, could earn up to $115,000, a significant increase from his current salary of $77,000. The district's Human Resources and Salary Advisory Board officially recommends salaries, but these are the ranges.

This change will result in salaries nearly doubling since 2006, when the council passed legislation increasing salaries to $54,000 for members and $60,000 for the council president for the 2010-2014 term .

In 2024, Councilman Wade Kach, a Republican who is not running again, introduced the bill 40-24. This bill changed the calculation of retirement benefits for council members retiring after January 1, 2025. It allows retired council members to receive a pension increase each time current council members receive a raise. Kach, 78, already receives two pensions – one from his work as a teacher and the other from his 40 years as a state delegate. He said this change aligns the county's pension rules with those of the General Assembly.

Finally, the question of expanding from seven to nine members was put to a vote in Bill 47-24. If passed, council members' salaries for full-time employees will be increased to a different, as-yet-undetermined amount. For example, Montgomery County council members have been full-time employees since voters approved the change in 2006. There, council members earn $156,284 per year and the council president earns $171,912.46 per year.

“Legislation I simply didn’t agree with”

Councilman Mike Ertel, a Democrat from Towson, was not in favor of the cap or the compensation bill, but he voted against the pension increase this year. In an interview after the vote, he said he didn't feel right voting for his own raise.

He wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable. County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. allowed the measure to take effect without his signature, something he said he occasionally did to express his disapproval.

“It was a law that I just didn’t agree with,” said Olszewski, a Democrat running for Congress. “I certainly respect that council has the ability to make these changes and decisions. Given my position, we felt the best course of action was to let it become law without my signature.”

Olszewski and Ertel have both been vocal in their support for expanding the council. Ertel championed the issue, and Olszewski supported an expansion to eleven members before a commission recommended increasing it to nine members.

Why increase salaries?

Some city councilors have second jobs; some don't. But voters expect the same level of service whether their representative has another job or not. Each council member has multiple full- and part-time staff members serving approximately 122,000 constituents. The expansion will bring each district down to about 95,000 members. Councilors must give up their other jobs if they want to serve.

All changes must be made via the Human Resources and Salary Advisory Board. But even under the 70 percent cap, they could receive a significant pension increase if their salaries rise.

“Ultimately, the amount council members would pay into the pension system could also change if voters approve the ballot question, the PSAB recommends a salary change and the council passes legislation to approve the change,” said David Marks, a Upper Falls Republican. “This will be part of an eventual review by the Office of Budget and Finance and the county’s actuarial adviser to the Legislature to change council members’ salaries.”

Kach said council members also pay the highest required minimum contribution to their retirement system of any county employee. It amounts to 13.4% of gross wages. Council members cannot receive raises or promotions.

“Council members must be elected every four years and their salaries remain unchanged at least until the next council or, as history has shown, future councils agree to an increase,” Kach said.

Give yourself a raise

Kach is correct that the county's changes mirror the General Assembly's pension system in that deputies do not receive cost-of-living raises and retiring deputies receive a pension increase when current deputies receive a raise.

But there are differences. Every four years, the General Assembly's Compensation Committee decides on new salaries and additional benefits. From 2002 to 2014, lawmakers received no raises; In 2018, they received increases – from $45,207 in 2015 to $50,330 for delegates and senators, and from $58,718 to $65,371 for the Senate President and Speaker of the House.

The district council meets 52 days a year; The General Assembly meets 90 days a year. Both have additional tasks outside of these meetings. Instead of maximizing their pension benefits after 16 years, delegates and senators only reach their maximum after 22 years and three months. And instead of receiving 70% of their salary as a pension, members of the General Assembly receive a maximum of 66.67%. The council's pension is more generous.

In 1970, a constitutional amendment authorized the General Assembly's Compensation Commission to set lawmakers' salaries, sparing them the hassle of increasing their own compensation and having to set a series of parameters — inflation, cost of living, housing — to make decisions. The general meeting cannot demand an increase; it can only cut. The package will become law if the General Assembly does not vote on it.

Can the district afford this?

Kach claims a 70% pension level means costs are minimal as only seven councilors are affected. County Auditor Lauren Smelkinson and Council Attorney Thomas Bostwick did not respond to requests for comment.

The total operating cost for expanding from seven to nine members is about $1.4 million, according to the county. This does not include pension increases or capital improvements such as office renovations. The County Council's current share of the county's general fund is $4.9 million – a small fraction of a percent.

Despite his reservations about the pension increase and council plans, Olszewski supports council expansion. And he said he would vote for it.