O'Malley's Teacher Pension Shift

Governor O'Malley's proposed state budget would shift $240 million in teacher pension costs to local governments.  Bryan Sears details the impact on Baltimore County in Patch. 

This shift has been debated at the state level for several years now.   State legislative leaders have repeatedly sought the change, but the governor held off such a move due to concerns raised by the Maryland Association of Counties and individual county leaders.   The Maryland Association of Counties has a good summary of the debate over pension costs at its blog, Conduit Street.

I will be following this issue closely as the Maryland General Assembly considers the governor's budget proposal.  Teacher pension costs represent another bill for Baltimore County to pay, even as we emerge from a difficult economic recession.  Money that Baltimore County will need to spend on teacher pensions could be targeted toward other priorities, such as schools, infrastructure, and economic development.