Councilwoman Cohen Writes A Letter To The Editor

Council health benefits situation clarified
By Terry E. Cohen

The Salisbury Ethics Commission has fully cleared Councilwoman Debbie Campbell and me of any violation concerning the council members' health insurance budget debate.I thank the commission members for their thoughtful consideration of the matter.

However, there are important facts absent from local reporting.The commission limited its decision to local law, as advised by City Attorney Paul Wilber, who wrote the commission's opinion.

There was no reference to Article III, Section 35, of the Maryland Constitution, which expressly prohibits changing the compensation of public officials during their four-year terms.I presented this and the Maryland Attorney General's opinion supporting it at the hearing.

The attorney general's opinion states, among other reasons, that this constitutional clause is designed "to prevent the legislative body from pressuring the public officer by ... threatening a decrease" in compensation.

One need only listen to the budget work session audios of April 28 and May 19, available at www.OnYour SideSBY.blogspot.com, to understand the wisdom of this constitutional clause.

This tempest in a teapot was actually brewed a year ago, after Campbell's health insurance costs were added into the budget.(She had reimbursed the city voluntarily for the previous three years.) The former mayor quietly sought an opinion from Wilber on the legal basis for council members' health insurance.

The legality of a 30-year local practice, common throughout the state and the country, suddenly became questionable to a longtime mayor?Nearly $1,400 of taxpayer money was spent to get the legal opinion that it's "permissible."

Salisbury's elected officials have the same eligibility and out-of-pocket premiums as city employees.Officials are not classed as "part-time" employees or differently in the plan.

As I said at the budget vote, there are valid points on both sides of the benefits question.However, when citizens learn the circumstances and series of events creating this so-called controversy, they are outraged by the personal and political abuse of our system.

During my campaign, I was the target of a residency challenge, dispensed with quickly as baseless and not newsworthy.This time, I suspect I was merely a casualty in the war against Debbie Campbell.

If I seek re-election in 2011, will my legal use of health insurance eligibility be a top campaign issue, more than crime, jobs or neighborhood protection?

Regardless, I'll continue to drive the development of good public policy and put citizens first because that's what I was elected to do.


Terry E. Cohen is a member of the Salisbury City Council.