As the Maryland Legislature enters its 3rd week -the O'Malley administration has proposed dramatic tax increases that will bring down the average Maryland household.The list of tax increases and shifts are virtually endless - and it is the most that I have ever witnessed during my entire time of covering these legislative events. No doubt that even one of the following tax shifts will dramatically diminish the living standard for the average Maryland household - much less multiples of O'Malleys suggested tax increases.
For example - Maryland's schoolteachers & state workers pension fund was 100% funded as late as the year 2000. Yet - 9 years later the pension fund's valuation fell to as low as 59.7% and was cited in Fitch's bonding rating report as being severely underfunded. Then - the 2010 legislature mandated the formation of a special commission - Public Employees & Retirees Benefits Sustainability Commission - whereby they met in the fall of 2010 and stated that the State's pension fund was approximately $35 billion dollars in unfunded liabilities and specifically noted that the State's current benefit structure was unsustainable.
Bottom line - the Commissions latest suggestion is simply to 'kick the can down the road' and pass off these increasing cost onto the Counties. For Wicomico taxpayers that represents absorbing 3.8 million dollars that we do not have. Governor O'Malley refers to the accounting method as a 'shift' in pension cost - I call it a 'taxpayers bailout'.
Instead of simply bailing out the state pension entity - I suggest that we first - follow the money trail - and see what specifically did the State invest these monies in. What led up to this significant deterioration of assets. Inquiring Maryland taxpayers minds deserve to know before simply 'shucking' out our wallets for yet another government funded bailout.
50 comments:
I am sure Stevie Prettyman will cave in on this one as well.
Taxpayers have always paid for everything. Who else is there? We pay for everything. You might be interested to know that the teachers fund a large portion of their own pension, as I'm sure other state and county employees do.
Let them bail out their OWN pension!!!! We are responsible for ourselves!!!!!!!! I put money away every week and I work for the private sector and it is my responsibility to provide for my future!!!!!!
Do you think 6% is a "large portion"? They fund very little of their pensions, but that was part of their decision in working for the government. It would be wrong to change the numbers for those already vested, but the newcomers should not expect the same deal. Let's just not be ridiculous at thinking 6% is a large portion when the tax payers are picking up the other 94%.
12:30 a large protion? How about all of it just like I have to do. I don't make 60K a year for working only 9 months then have the luxury of asking the taxpayer to also fund my retirement! f them!
How is this any different than cutting teacher pensions? Teachers after all are taxpayers too. If their taxes go up to bailout the pension fund, their net pension is less. Some teachers today are rallying for new schools which will ultimately reduce the money that the State has for pensions and there will be even more taxes that retired teachers will need to pay.
Since moving from MD to DE, I've saved enough in property taxes alone to cover payments on a 3 year new car loan.
First it was Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, then AIG, GM, Chrysler, Goldman Sachs . . . now the State of Maryland's Pension fund.
When will this illegal behavior end?
I hope Matt Maciarello launches an in depth investigation into what happened to the pension funds. $35 billion dollars is an ENORMOUS FIGURE for any State.
And I would hope that County Attorney Ed Baker will chime-in on this scandalous activity.
I would not be surprised if the pension money was sent overseas to Greece, Italy, Spain, & Portugal.
Really - this needs to be investigated thoroughly.
stevie and rick; are you now satistied with yourselves? this is absurd to say the least.
we the people not "some of the people" (pro tax and spenders) on pet projects.
enough is enough. when are we going to put a stop to all this? i must end before we are all bankrupt; not just the county but each individual taxpayer.
liberals, do you understand the mess we're in yet? well if you don't you're dumber than a nail. again; thank you for all you've done to put us in this predicament.
by the way; we as taxpayers don't owe the teachers squat. you made your choices regarding retirement and we have made ours. ask yourselves this question teachers; because my 401k's have turned to mush, will you bail me out? the answer from you is a resounding no, so i don't see why i have to help you either. get it????
This really ought to get interesting as I believe O'Malley's wife is former Maryland Attorney General Joe Curran's daughter. I agree - an investigation should be done regardless of who's who.
The entire educational system is totally out of control. Runaway costs have burdened our citizenry to the point of meltdown. I have to fund my own pension and I'll be dang if I get hit with a property tax increase to fund the schoolteacher pensions - then some of elected officials needs to go to jail.
You all prove your ignorance of the situation by your posts on here. Teachers pay 7% of the their yearly salary toward their pension. Just like some you on here say you do for your 401k's. They also contribute their own money to a 403B plan which is similar to a 410k. So, teachers put away about 10% of their yearly salary towards retirement just like anyone in the private sector would do if they are smart. The difference is that teachers have very little say over how their retirement fund is invested, except for the 403B part.
Teachers are very much against moving the cost of their pensions on the counties. They know the counties do not have the means to fund their pensions. So don't bash the teachers and their pension. The fault lies at the feet of the state government.
I have to shake my head as during the good economic times nobody thought teachers were underworked and overpaid. Now, suddenly teacher bashing is the norm. If you're so jealous of their job and retirement, cash in your 401K, go to college, and become a teacher. You'll find it is a lot harder than all of you think.
I have worked for the State for 10 years. I used to make what I call being able to pay my bills on time. I make less now than I did 6 years ago and because of the outrageous rental prices here, I was even evicted at one time. 401K plan sucks! They did not consider it an emergency. I am now living with a room mate to make ends meet and still barely making it. I am thankful to have a job but would love to bring home the money that I did 6 years ago. The taxes have to stop being more and let working, single people at least have a chance to live by themselves. It takes 2 incomes or more just to live in Salisbury. I live in an area surrounded by college students. Thankfully, they are real nice young adults. I don't need or want a new car, mine runs fine, crossing fingers here, or a boat or a fancy house. I just want my own place to call home and hopefully be able to retire in 5 more years. No children in school and I can't afford to pay for other family's children to go to a better school or for the teacher's benefits. Where is the help for those of us who have worked for 30 years, paid taxes but overscaled for Government benefits? I apologize...just needed to vent. Thank you!
I just hope our CC will ask for an investigation before authorizing any funding. I can see right now that this is another explosive issue for all Maryland counties. Especially for Montgomery as they are going to have the largest liability.
3:06
Schools are funded locally from property taxes, so if you rent, you don't pay property taxes. Maybe you need to buy a home. I live in a crappy neighborhood, but paid a lot less than 100,000 for my house and the mortgage is about $400 a month. The house next to me rents for $800 a month. Plus I have been building equity in my home every year. BTW I have a master's degree and still work 2 jobs. You do what you have to do to make ends meet
Vote out the liberal politicians and fire all union teachers.
Are some of you really that ignorant? Stevie or matt don't have a thing to do with the teachers pension. That is a STATE retirement plan. The ONLY thing that the county will have to do is figure out how to pay for it when Maryland hands off a share to the counties. When that happens, the county should have a say in the raises that the teachers get. Those of you that are saying 6 percent, you don't know what you are talking about either. The teachers pay 6 percent of their annual income into a fund that is invested, so no... you aren't payin 94 percent. But why would I expect any of you to actually think.
To 3:22 Post
That's what so despicable about the whole ordeal. The county council doesn't have a say in the matter. All they see is a 3.8 million dollar bill being presented to them. For that matter, neither do Wicomico's taxpayers. The whole notion of passing the burden down to wicomico's property owners is wrought with fraud and ought not to be allowed. Something has to be done to reign-in a runaway government. Surely, we are not the only ones asking these types of questions as all of the counties are being saddled with the additional expense. What a financial mess.
To 2:57
I do not believe you are as innocent as you play out in your post. If I'm not mistaken, a lot of the problem with the runaway pension cost were because of teachers salary increases whereby the state shouldered increased cost at an escalation rate that could not be kept up. So yes - significant teacher salary increases in the early 2000 and up years helped contribute to the current crisis.
I thought the pension system was decimated by a previous administration's(Glendenon's) selection of a Pension head to invest the funds and he propped up his company and lost many dollars of the state.. I think he might have served time for that also. The state AG should be the one to determine if the fund was reimbursed.
I would hope that many of the commenters will appear before the county council and duly note your protest. Whether or not it does any good at least it will help to express your anger. In the end it is ultimately going to cost you additional money as it always does.
to 2:57 regarding "teacher bashing"; 1. Government schools are putting out an inferior product. i don't blame you totally, but had teachers protested en mass many years ago regarding the "teachers union" and all their mandates and the dept. of ed. and all their mandates we would NOT be in this mess. education should be local. it's sad but you went along to get along to keep your precious insurance. 2. Because of the inferior education offered and produced by government schools, millions of us left this sinking ship to persue a better education for our children. after all it's our responsibility not the government. 3. Because the local BOE is constantly asking for more money from all taxpayers and it's like pulling teeth to get info regarding the financial records and reports from them, this puts a hardship on the county council when they have to make these decisions. 4. Now because of the latest faux pax from the county council vote; we have to deal with more taxpayer dollars coming from the majority of local citizens who can't afford this (new school). perhaps this isn't your fault but we have a county manager who has never run a business or met a payroll so we all suffer from bureaucrats who don't have a clue.
these are just some of the reasons for "teacher bashing". i could go on but i won't for now.
as for 3:19, you are wrong about "renters". of course they pay property taxes. they pay it in their rent (indirectly). the property taxes are figured in the total cost of the rent by the owner of the property or the landlord. this is "one" of the reasons rent is so high in our county.
there is no doubt about it, corruption is rampant at all levels of government. it is our responsibility as "we the people" to be the watchdogs, to oversee, to ask questions and yes offer solutions. some officials don't like this. is there something to hide? perhaps there is, so let's keep a watch at all times for our future and our children's future.
I am a school teacher. They raised out teacher pension that we pain into by 3% this year. Howevr, the 3% raise that we are paying does not go towards our teacher pension. It goes into the general funds.
This is another Teacher Tax that the public does not hear about.
Now, does anyone wonder where the 96% of BMS funds are coming from? Our politicians keep digging this hole deeper and deeper.
Money will always be an issue in public education and teachers will always be hated as long as it is tied to property tax.
Maybe parents (since many treat school like a day care anyway) should be charged $2 and hour for school to help with direct funding to the school system.
Hey school teachers.. have you done any furlough days yet?
Would teacher taking furlough days make you sleep better at night?
The biggest problem in Wicomico County public schools is the Superintendent. The appointed BOE members are going to renew his contract because they are afraid of him and to lazy to do another search.
@2:27. And exactly who is going to teach when the teachers have to take furlough days? You do know that there are a required number of days that students in Maryland must go to school, don't you? When employees take furlough days they do not go to work!
Can you Maryland Citizens not vote for the never know the meaning of a dollar O'Malley because I wouldn't vote for him if I could because if he was the governor for any longer then there would be a huge drop for job lost. Because unlike O'Malley people has to work they can't just wave there hands and say raise taxes and make more money for himself.
To 5:07 Posting
Good point! Same place where all of the money comes from - our hip pockets. The Governor and his administration can play hocus pocus with our finances until the cows come home - and they can say offset here and we'll offset there - but at the end of the day it is voodoo economics.
What a propaganda blitz - and I refuse to fall for it!
I just read the Fitch rating report in the article's link and I do not see how in the hell a credit rating agency can issue a AAA bond rating when the states pension fund is in the hock to the tune of 35 billion dollars. 35 billion dollar is not chump change by any stroke of the imagination.
3:36, give me a break. The furlough days can be during days when you are not in school. Such as christmas break or some other time. It is essentially set up as a pay cut. If you are required to be in school a certain amount of days......what about the 4 day week that the super. Was threatening to scare the parents? All they have to do is start summer break early or run it longer by the same number of days......but then again, that wont put the parents in as much of a jam. Teachers can get a paycut equivalent to 7 days of pay like the rest of the county employees.
Teachers don't get paid for Christmas Break. They get paid to work 190 days. All the Holidays and days off are not paid days off. Just think how much the taxpayers would have to pay teachers if they did work all year and got paid holidays. Parents would be screaming to high heaven if schools closed anymore days. Just read this blog when there is a snow day.
If the county ever went to a four day school week our state government would have to change COMAR to require a minimum number of school HOURS for the year instead of days, as Maryland law now reads. After that happened each of the four days would be lengthened so the students were still getting the same number of hours as the five day week.
Check out the cost of day care and compare the cost of sending your child for eight hours a day for 9 months. I bet it doesn't even touch what you pay in taxes or what a teacher makes. Let the teachers be paid for the job they do, babysitting. That would be $10.00 an hour (or so) for eight hours. Oh yeah don't forget to multiply that by the 25+ kids they have in class and then multiply that by the 180 days. Believe me you are getting off cheap. Teachers make about $1.50 per child per day. People teacher's pay or retirement is not the issue. Teachers don't have a choice of where to invest their money. Plus their retirement increased so more money has been taken from their pay and that money was put in the general fund. So they will never see that money. How about we tax your investments . Get a grip people.
10:31 Post
That's the point, the entire educational institution is out of control. The entire establishment needs to be dismantled and completely overhauled.
Vouchers should be given to parents, right to work laws need to be implemented immediately. And there should never be another pension system set-up that requires a taxpayers bailout.
The teachers are very sensitive when you mention furloughs. Suck it up and take the furloughs like other government employees.
I always knew Stevie Prettyman was a RINO. If her lapdog had any sense he wouldn't have allowed her to call a special meeting know she was going to change her vote.
I always side with the teachers now because I don't want to seem "cool". It seems like the going thing to bash teachers now a days so I take the opposite side just to make everyone mad. Haters are going to hate.
To 7:21
I would not be a bit surprised after Mrs. Prettyman sees the latest schoolteacher pension bailout cost numbers that she changes her mind yet again. 3.8 mil is not chump change even for wicomico county.
to 9:22pm, teachers are a salary position, they can chose to be paid over a 10 month period or a 12 month period. I am not sure what their vacation is over and beyond, the standard school days out. Christmas break, Spring break, about 12 weeks in the summer months.
next point, the teacher said their pension deduction rose 3% but did not go int the pension fund, that would be problem for the teachers and the person in charge of where the money goes, It Is Not The Problem for the average tax payer.
The Furloughs for wicomico county are set up as to each paycheck a portion is deducted, so if you do not take the furlough the county still has their money.
Teachers need to take furloughs, and use them on their normal break,
If BOE needs money, they are not going to find the 1 million dollar jack pot, but cut bits and pieces EVERYWHERE, to include furloughs or a temporary pay reduction and to include the wastefulness of paper, where the info can be emailed and somewhere along the line I heard the BOE has take home vechilces, they should have been gone gone gone! If you use your personal vechicle then fill out an expense sheet to justify the trip.
@ anon 2:57 and 3:20 – You’re spot on in regards to teachers pension & unions. All the rants directed at the teachers are misguided and wrong.
The issue is not pension, no pension, or if teacher’s paid into it or not. The pension is part of a contract and once vested it is guaranteed and backed up by the state. So what’s really the issue stems around proper funding of the pension, and that is based on forecasts of pension pay outs and what’s needed in the pension portfolio to keep those dollars flowing. With that said (over simplified of course), the real question is; how were the pension dollars invested? The short answer seems to be NOT VERY WELL! And unfortunately many other public/private pension investments have fallen victim to (but that’s another subject, for a different time). The real dirty, nasty, who did it question is; who was asleep, at fault, reckless, incompetent, misguided… in their stewardship of the teachers’ pension??? And I’m sorry to say, you don’t have far to look… It’s the teachers union! Yes, that same group that reaches into your pay slip each and every payday and says “I’ll take my cut” – Ouch!
Make no mistake about it, the teacher’s are getting hosed! They pay the unions (by law, to boot!) to represent them, and in this case mismanage their pension, only to pay more in taxes (state or county) to make up for any pension short comings – Yikes!!!
Can you say “You’re fired”? Well… technically you can’t, but if I was a teacher, I wish I could!
Teachers will take furloughs when the other county employees start taking hours and hours of work home with them at night. When other county employees start paying out of their pocket for supplies to do their job well like teachers do every year. Teachers have not had a raise in three years, yet they don't get on here and complain, they just keep doing more with less. They spend hundreds of dollars to provide supplies for their students. Spend their time off taking classes and trying to improve themselves as teachers. They come in to school in early August for no pay and start getting their rooms ready for the upcoming year. Do you come in on your vacation and work for free. They go to their students' activities on weekends and evenings to let them know they care about the students. Public school teachers teach everyone no matter their religion, economic status, race, gender, and disability.
Of course teachers don't want the counties to pick up their pension tabs! If that happens, then counties won't vote in their pay raises - on which their pensions are based!
State employees have eaten furloughs, and in some cases, salary reductions while county paid (but state pensioned) teachers have gotten RAISES.
Years ago, Gov. Schaffer raided the State Police pension system to fund the teacher's retirement plan to the tune of MILLIONS of dollars - and that has never been re-paid!
F 'em!
to 11:55 am, I buy my childs school supplies, which ends up getting shared with other childred, because other childrens parents do not supply their children with school supplies, i am sure if you look around the class room you know who those children are. (yes i ended the sentence incorrectly) I have also given supplies to the teacher. Maybe if the school would just cut back on the waste of paper, most forms can be emailed to the parents and the ones who say they don't have email, well let those parents pay a fee at the beginning the year to have all their info. printed on paper. I never said teachers do work for free, they are a Salary posistion, which covers 12 months, also above and beyond school days out what additional vaka time do you receive. Many moons ago i knew then and i know now that teachers spend evenings grading and planing for the next day or the next week.
But that is part of the job, just like many other jobs, examples police - they work nights, weekends, holidays etc, they took the job knowing the hours of the job. Yes i realize teachers must have a continued education, just like most jobs there is always is a type of education in order to perform jobs better etc.
And as far as I am concerned I as a taxpayer is not responsiable for your pension are you responiable for mine, i would think not. Teachers need to go to the person or persons who are responseable take them to court and make them pay. Sounds simple well it can really be that simple.
Teachers can stay at school till 5 P.M. like most people do and they can utilize that additional 1hour and half to plan, grade, clean re-organzie.
I have been in many class rooms from my side the class rooms seem very disorganzie with material upon material all stacked up, maybe there is a method to that type of orginzation or could it be they have more supplies and resources then needed.
Anyway, I do support the teachers, but no MORE TAXES for anyone,
I am a teacher and would LOVE it if they stopped taking my money from me for a pension and let me be on my own to invest in my own 403b/401k. We have had our contributions increased, and this year there is a "teacher tax" in which we pay an additional 2% of our salary to our "pension" but that exceeds the amount that we can contribute to our pension, so the additional 2% goes to the MD general fund. So, we are taxed an additional 2% simply for being teachers in MD. This 2% is in addition to the same taxes that we all pay for living in the same towns/cities/counties that all non-teachers also pay. This is a tax that only teachers pay. That should make a lot of you feel better.
Get rid of the Teacher Union stranglehold... Save yourself, while you can! They bring no value added benefit, other than to themselves. Just look at Wisconsin, the state saved millions by NOT using union backed healthcare programs…
Really, you’re smart, educated, and if given the choice… best able to provide for your health and pension without over-priced union control.
NO MORE TAXES until you lock down funding lines..
1- All lottery revenues go to education..no more general fund
2- Stop stealing funds raised for roads to fund India junkets, other non road issues
This whole mess is called taxation without representation. we already fund you to the hilt..use the money as designed.
and WE WANT SCHOOL VOUCHERS NOW!! GET IT ON THE BALLOT
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