On Tuesday, the Wicomico County Council will vote whether to approve County Executive Rick Pollitt's supplemental budget for Fiscal Year 2009. This budget will be slightly different from Pollitt's proposed budget. The Council decided to cut $646,000 from education and suggested that the cut be applied to roads ($300,000), contingency ($206,000) and fire companies ($140,000). Pollitt has agreed to apply the cuts per council's recommendation.
Also in budget is the establishment of a county legal department. Ed Baker will continue as County Attorney, but will now be a full time employee of Wicomico County.
In principle, this is a good move on the part of Pollitt and the County Council. While Baker has provided excellent service, we all know that there can be serious problems with contracting out the job of a county or city attorney. Just look at Salisbury.
There is, however, one little surprise in the creation of the legal department. Mr. Baker, while not becoming a full time county employee until FY 2009, will have his pension benefits be based on a RETROACTIVE date of service of 1989!
Pollitt's office explains:
Now I don't begrudge Mr. Baker anything. I have nothing but the greatest respect for him. I also don't know what the estimated cost of this retroactively enhanced pension is. That is not the point! We need a little truth in advertising here.
If this was a deal negotiated between Baker and Pollitt, and Pollitt feels that keeping Baker as the County Attorney is in the best interest of taxpayers, fine. But that is not the reasoning given for this decision.
We are not talking about some exotic compensation package for a Fortune 500 CEO. We're discussing the pay and benefits of a COUNTY EMPLOYEE. The taxpayer needs to come first!
While I feel that keeping Baker IS a good thing, I hope that a majority of the Wicomico County Council votes down the budget because of this. If my good friend Rick Pollitt thinks that he caught a bunch of flak over handing out bonuses to key employees last year, wait until the public gets a load of this.
cross posted at Delmarva Dealings
Also in budget is the establishment of a county legal department. Ed Baker will continue as County Attorney, but will now be a full time employee of Wicomico County.
In principle, this is a good move on the part of Pollitt and the County Council. While Baker has provided excellent service, we all know that there can be serious problems with contracting out the job of a county or city attorney. Just look at Salisbury.
There is, however, one little surprise in the creation of the legal department. Mr. Baker, while not becoming a full time county employee until FY 2009, will have his pension benefits be based on a RETROACTIVE date of service of 1989!
Pollitt's office explains:
According to IRS rules, Mr. Baker should have been in the plan all along sine he is regarded(by the IRS) as an employee not as a contractor.As far as I know, Baker is a member of the law firm of Seidel, Baker & Tilghman. Was the county taking out federal and state income tax withholding from checks sent to Baker's firm? Was the county deducting half of the FICA and Medicare taxes (and paying the other half)? Was her receiving other benefits from the county?
Now I don't begrudge Mr. Baker anything. I have nothing but the greatest respect for him. I also don't know what the estimated cost of this retroactively enhanced pension is. That is not the point! We need a little truth in advertising here.
If this was a deal negotiated between Baker and Pollitt, and Pollitt feels that keeping Baker as the County Attorney is in the best interest of taxpayers, fine. But that is not the reasoning given for this decision.
We are not talking about some exotic compensation package for a Fortune 500 CEO. We're discussing the pay and benefits of a COUNTY EMPLOYEE. The taxpayer needs to come first!
While I feel that keeping Baker IS a good thing, I hope that a majority of the Wicomico County Council votes down the budget because of this. If my good friend Rick Pollitt thinks that he caught a bunch of flak over handing out bonuses to key employees last year, wait until the public gets a load of this.
cross posted at Delmarva Dealings
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29 comments:
I've read in the news recently he was/is the attorney for Snow Hill, Princess Anne, as well as being the attorney for Vienna.
As an independent contractor, said person is free to work for other clients as he sees fit. This seems to have been the case with Mr. Baker up until now.
I'd be willing to bet that none of those other municipalities ever considered Mr. Baker to be an "employee" nor do they want to.
This move on the part of the County Executive reeks. What is really going on here?
Why do they want to give $140,000 to the fire companies when they are proven corrupt and unaccountable???? How can these fire companies justify the funding they already recieve. Can someone please answer this post accurately and fairly?
GA:
Please get the IRS ruling on this unbelievable stunt by Pollitt (the latest of many). It sounds absurd on its face.
BTW, if it is correct, then this is another reason for the City of Salisbury to have an in-house City Attorney.
The IRS explanation by the county is pure BS. The IRS states:
"People such as lawyers, contractors, subcontractors and auctioneers who follow an independent trade, business, or profession in which they offer their services to the public, are generally not employees. However, whether such people are employees or independent contractors depends on the facts in each case.
The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if you, the person for whom the services are performed, have the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result."
And if he, by some chance, can be claimed as an employee, then the county owes 19 years of Social Security and Medicare as well as 19 years of penalties and interest for not depositing 941 taxes.
The response from Mr. Pollitts office should have been, Mr. Baker COULD have been in the plan all along. NOT SHOULD, It wasnt required then to be in the plan. If an employee who was not in the plan wanted to get in at this point and "buy back" the time they werent in it, it would cost them a fortune. I also dont see how the county can give a benefit out like that because the employees pay for the fund out of their own pockets, not the county. How can you pay a person from a fund that they have never contributed to? They should have to get permission from the county employees. Mr. Baker will now be eligible for retirement immediately, and in another 6 years will be eligible for full retirement. It is not right for the powers that be to play with the employees retirement money, that they fund themselves!!!! I find this ludicrous. It is another case of the good old boy network. I question the legalities. It is not the counties money to play with. What if the plan goes bankrupt? Not just from this one incident, but I know of other situations where similar arrangements have been made. In 6 years he will be able to receive 50% of his pay for THE REST OF HIS LIFE, courtesy of the other employees. So Joe, I agree this is wrong, however the true wrong is against the county employees, not the taxpayers.
7:35
Good comment except for one thing:
the "true wrong" is against all of us. This is another shenanigan by Pollitt.
Where are Don Coffin, Jack Plummer and the other VOICE directors when we really need them?
Now we know why Baker becoming a full time ("in-house") attorney for the County was kept a secret (almost) from the public until it became a fait accompli. Did the Seven Dwarfs also known as the "County Council," participate in this rip off of the taxpayers?
Joe/GA:
Please post the e-mail address for County Council members so we can get on them about this absurdity!
And if it passes, please organize a referendum petition against all concerned.
How many other "ggodies" are there in Pollitt's budget?
Let's hope that Joe Holloway kills this as dead as those $23 pens.
Mr. Baker is as honest as they come, a good attorney who, unlike Mr. Wilber, does not gratuitously run up his legal fees. He has charged significantly less than Wilber for many, many years, and his expertise has saved the taxpayers loads of money (again, unlike Wilber who writes lousy law so he can get paid to defend it later). I don't know much about this particular benefit, but based on his years of service and integrity, I would definitely be willing to give Mr. Baker the benefit of the doubt on this one. This type of salary negotiation is very common at the administrative level--to get an experienced lawyer at the rates the county is willing to pay, the benefits package has to be attractive. Mr Baker's experience would easily put him in the over $200 an hour range, but he charges far less than that. You can get a cheaper inexperienced attorney, but then you will have to pay much more in the long run as they learn their job. Wilber is going to keep costing the city long after he is gone, because a new city attorney wil be spending years cleaning up his mess. Mr Baker will have none of those problems whatsoever. Basically, he's good people and I trust him.
Surely, Baker was under his own plan at his law firm during this period too.
19 years of retroactive coverage--I don't think so....
I think this is absolutely ridiculous. This is unfair to the taxpayers of Wicomico County as well as to other county employees. Tax and spend is all they seem to know !!!!! Have some mercy on the poor taxpayer who is trying to live on a fixed income. All taxpayers are not rich.
I agree with Anon 8:45's atatements about Ed Baker's integrity and his saving the county much in the way of legal fees and settlements. I got to know Ed as a Trustee for the library for six years, and I can tell you personaly he is above reproach and an excellant attorney! He saved the library plenty just being there when we needed legal help, which he donated without a thought of refund. If there ever was a person in this town I would like to see get whatever he deserves, it would be Ed Baker. So, I think taking him on as a county employee is great for us tax payers, but the retroactive retirement thing is questionable I do believe. Unless, Ed is paying into it himself, which can be done I believe.
A. Goetz
Anonymous said...
Joe/GA:
Please post the e-mail address for County Council members so we can get on them about this absurdity!
8:30 AM
John T. Cannon (Republican)
Council President
30303 Dixon Road
Salisbury, MD 21804
Biography
Office: 410-548-4696
Home: 443-523-4553
Fax: 410-749-7250
Email: jtcannon@wicomicocounty.org
William R. McCain (Democrat)
30111 Providence Drive
Salisbury, MD 21804
Biography
Office: 410-548-4696
Home: 410-860-1461
Fax: 410-860-5313
Email: wmccain@wicomicocounty.org
Sheree Sample-Hughes (Democrat)
28926 Jacqueline Drive
Salisbury, MD 21801
Biography
Office: 410-548-4696
Home: 410-677-3388
Fax: 420-860-1258
Email: ssamplehughes@wicomicocounty.org
Stevie Prettyman (Republican)
Council Vice President
5393 Royal Mile Boulevard
Salisbury, MD 21801
Biography
Office: 410-548-4696
Home: 410-742-6026
Fax: 410-546-9901
Email: sprettyman@wicomicocounty.org
Gail M. Bartkovich (Republican)
3960 Featherstone Drive
Salisbury, MD 21804
Biography
Office: 410-548-4696
Home: 410-742-5399
Fax: 410-742-8187
Email: gbartkovich@wicomicocounty.org
David MacLeod (Democrat)
603 Hunting Park Drive
Salisbury, MD 21801
Biography
Office: 410-548-4696
Home: 410-749-6945
Fax: 410-860-1257
Email: mac603@comcast.net
Joe Holloway (Republican)
32928 Shavox Road
Parsonsburg, MD 21849
Biography
Office: 410-548-4696
Home: 410-749-4010
Fax: 410-860-1256
Email: jholloway@wicomicocounty.org
Rick Pollitt
Government Office Bldg., Room 303
P.O. Box 870
Salisbury, MD 21803-0870
Office: 410-548-4801
Fax: 410-548-4803
E-mail: rickpollitt@wicomicocounty.org
That "IRS rules" smoke screen is pure BS -- see this discussion:
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p963.pdf
This is worse than Ricky's secret pay raises last year and that park land deal with Davis that almost went through this year.
The County would be much better off to hire a younger lawyer to handle routine things at first and cut back using Baker over a 3-5 year period as the in-house attorney takes on the entire load. He's about 60, so won't be there long. This is another Pollitt empire building move.
So what's his salary gonna be -- anything over $100,000 is a rip off as there are plenty of lawyers out there.
1. The county council knew about the retirement benefit all along. Mr. Pollitt was not trying to sneak anything by anyone.
2. I'm not certain, but I believe Mr. Baker is paying something in to receive this benefit.
3. You cannot and will not find a better attorney for the money.
This is no different than the Bd of Ed giving an asst supt a 10% bonus for retiring, letting him stay and keep the bonus and giving him a sweet deal for another year. This is not a CEO of a private company or a sports team. There is a salary schedule for Bd employees. How can money above and beyond that be given to anyone?
OK, we have given the elected County Administrator a chance and it has been a disaster from day one. The first thing that happened was the increase in county staff to support the position and the subsequent increased burden on the taxpayer. Then some of the good old boys were brought back like the old county executive. How many checks is he getting from the county taxpayers now? Then we had the land deal that would have gone through had not it became public, and now this deal with Ed Baker. Enough is enough! It is time for another referendum to get rid of the elected County Admin. position and put things back the way they were. Nothing has gotten better because of the change. It has gotten worse.Lesson learned, now correct it
This is one of the few smart actions that the County has taken, Mr. Baker is honest vs. the crook city attorney Wilber.
Ed Baker will be representing the county which is 3 times the population of the city for less than the city pays that screw up Paul Wilber who keeps coming back for more and more than was budgeted. I trust Ed Baker, period. Trusting Rick Pollitt is another story.
An average attorney can make $50,000 a month on DUI's and Wills alone. Minimal staff too.
I like Ed, wasn't it Ed's father that used to own the Pine Cone Inn on Old Ocean city rd.?
Anonymous said...
OK, we have given the elected County Administrator a chance and it has been a disaster from day one. The first thing that happened was the increase in county staff to support the position and the subsequent increased burden on the taxpayer. Then some of the good old boys were brought back like the old county executive. How many checks is he getting from the county taxpayers now? Then we had the land deal that would have gone through had not it became public, and now this deal with Ed Baker. Enough is enough! It is time for another referendum to get rid of the elected County Admin. position and put things back the way they were. Nothing has gotten better because of the change. It has gotten worse.Lesson learned, now correct it
8:46 PM
You've got it all wrong dude. We elected a County Executive, not a County Administrator. Ted Shea is the County Administrator and Rick Pollitt is the Elected County Executive.
They, the County Council brought back the old County Administrator Matt "rotten teeth" Cramer after the Chief Deputy Sheriff didn't work out in that position. You are right on track and I believe you are on to something though. I favor the old form of government myself and I would vote to bring it back in a heartbeat.
"(again, unlike Wilber who writes lousy law so he can get paid to defend it later)....and LOOSE.
I TELL YOU WHAT IF JOE ALBERO, GRAND DAD, OR G.A. WOULD RUN NEXT TIME FOR COUNTY EXCUTIVE I DO NOT KNOW WHICH ONE I WOULD VOTE FOR BUT EITHER OF THEM I THINK WOULD DO A HELLA LOT BETTER JOB THAN WHAT WE HAVE.OR MAYBE FOR A STEPPING STONE GRAND DAD BUST OLD GANGBUSTERS ASS OUT OF THE DISTRICT 5 SEAT.
i agree anon 11.38, this dead wood form of goverment we have voted into place sucks, all ricky p can do is talk about lifting the revenue cap, and mr non - colgate creamer all he can do is mumble some bullshit into a microphone during council sessions. back in americas beginning most of the politicians were farmers, inventors, or non cheating scaming business men who meet during the evenings to discuss and implement laws to help ppl as a whole. now these full time hi paid politicians meet all day to discuss how to rip off and cheat the taxpayers and to help make them and the ones who elected them richer. old boy network alive everwhere in good old usa today.
I am not arguing that Ed is honorable, that is not the point, and those of you arguing that are just trying to cloud the real issue. If he is going to be in the county retirement plan, it is going to cost him 5% (roughly) per month. However, to "buy back" 17 years, at his salary, will cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,000,000.00. I know someone who wanted to buy back 2 years and they were told it would cost them $180,000.00 and they dont make anywhere near his salary. Who is going to purchase the buy back, or are they just going to throw his name in the hat and let him draw off the other employees contributions. There was recently a young man, who works at the roads division, killed in a tragic motorcycle accident. This young man has a one year old daughter. He lacked a few months of receiving the death benefit.(one year salary). He had been employed for the required amount of time, however, a portion of that time was under the "part time" status. This is the counties way of hiring people and not having to give them benefits. If Mr. Baker should be able to recieve retroactive benefits because he worked part time for the county, then this young man, who I am sure whose one year old daughter could certainly use this benefit, should receive the same consideration. But I guess this negotiation is only if you are in the good old boy club. Shame on you Wicomico County. I hope someone FOI's how the buy back occurs, even if it does. Joe, please put this post back up front so it can get the attention it merits.
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