Baltimore City Council members’ top priority: their own pensions

I wonder how many corporations today offer vesting for pensions for employees working only eight years? Well, leave it to the Baltimore City Council to pad their pockets with city money by changing the pension eligibility from 12 to 8 years of service (“Baltimore City Council advances bill making its members pension-eligible in 8 years instead of 12, faulting term-limit proposal,” Nov. 7).

As reported in The Baltimore Sun,

“In anticipation of the [city term limit] ballot question passing, the Baltimore City Council on Monday voted in favor of adjusting the city’s pension plan for elected officials to allow vesting after eight years, the equivalent of two terms, instead of the current 12. The vote, which was 9 to 2, was approved over objections from city retirement and finance officials, who warned the council that the move will cost the city as more officials become pension-eligible.”

Well, since they can’t accomplish anything for Baltimore, at least they can take care of themselves and, as always, we will pay for it. Too bad they didn’t include an estimated amount it would cost the city in the foreseeable future. Maybe people would have thought differently about voting for it if they had.

— Stas Chrzanowski, Baltimore