McCarthy Pension Bill: What Do You Think?
When Montgomery County's top prosecutor, John McCarthy, took the oath of office last year, his pension from more than two decades as a county employee was frozen, and he was directed to join a retirement plan for elected officials. Now, County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) wants the County Council to change the rules to let McCarthy reactivate his pension, a move that would provide him with thousands of dollars more a year in guaranteed income when he retires. Here's the full story by Ann E. Marimow.
What do you think about Leggett's proposal? Post your comment here.
By Anne Bartlett |
April 29, 2008; 10:05 AM ET
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Posted by: Baltimoron | April 29, 2008 10:50 AM
I have known McCarthy for years. He is a very nice guy. He is a smart guy who is hardworking. He is somewhat political as he had a photo of himself and O'Malley in his campaign brochure.
I think he probably knew, or at least should have known, about the change in pension when he decided to campaign for the job. He won and now is running the show.
But his timing is bad. Leggett has proposed the largest property tax increase in 20 years. If Marilyn Praisner thought this was a bad idea, why has it suddenly become a good idea? With $4 gas, we have to give the homeowner the benefit of the doubt in any spending situation.
Posted by: Robin Ficker Broker Robin Realty | April 29, 2008 11:04 AM
Isn't that nice. Seems that perhaps Mr. Leggett has "forgotten" that he voted for this change to the pension plan while he was on the County Council in 1993. In addition, isn't curious that Mr. Firestine, as a high ranking member of the Management and Budget Office, was also a primary force in defending this move at that time. What was once deemed a necessity is now seen simply as " a courtesy from one elected official to another". One of the primary reasons for this change, from a defined benefit to a defined contribution plan, was to save money. Now that it is working it seems that it is time to change it. What about the other County employees who are also covered under the defined contribution plan, predominately blue collar workers, don't their families deserve "not to be penalized" and transitioned into the "better plan" especially when you figure these employees are making significantly less than Mr. McCarthy? If these employees are able to make this sacrifice to provide the much needed services to the citizens of Montgomery County, surely Mr. McCarthy can do likewise.
Posted by: DB51US | April 30, 2008 8:16 AM
This is total B.S.
Sure, Mr. McCarthy had a fat pension plan in his old job (so did I!). He'd like to stay in that plan even though he is changing jobs, which would be very sweet for him. This would be wrong and a disservice to the taxpayers of Montgomery County.
If he doesn't want this PUBLIC SERVICE JOB with the advertised compensation, then get somebody who will. Trust me, there are other people out there who can do the job.
Posted by: Josey23 | May 7, 2008 10:32 AM
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Nice to know that these "public servants" aren't in it for the money...