Montgomery County employees closed ranks Monday to protect contracts that in many cases guarantee they’ll be taking home 8 percent more next year, despite county budget problems.
The head of Montgomery’s county government employee union said Monday that retention remains an issue for many county jobs, saying some departments suffer because workers use Montgomery jobs for experience before they move elsewhere to places with better pensions.
“We always have a deficit in the number of bus drivers, the 911 dispatch operators, nurses and social workers,” said Gino Renne, head of Montgomery’s Municipal and County Government Employees Organization, which represents more than 8,000 workers. “In some fields, people come in, they get experience, a nice line on their resume, and they move on to places all around us that pay better or have better pensions.”
Council members are wrestling with cost-of-living adjustments and step increases guaranteed in union contracts that in some cases constitute 8 percent raises, while the county faces a $297 million budget gap in the fiscal year that starts next July.
“I think we are digging a hole that we can’t afford to stay in and moving us in the wrong direction rather than the right direction, which is to temper the increases so we don’t get in a deeper problem in future years,” Council Vice President Phil Andrews said. “The increases are unsustainable, and I don’t see any reason for them since our recruitment remains excellent.”
Renne told The Examiner that he objected to Andrews’ “blanket statement.”
“That may be true for teachers, but it is not true for many of our service workers,” Renne said. “We have critical services that are often staffed through overtime, which not only ups labor costs in general but adds to the amount of sick leave taken because of wear and tear on employees.”
Teachers, though, had parents and students alike championing their cause Monday as students staged a march to protest County Executive Ike Leggett’s decision to fund 98 percent of the schools’ budget request, and a group of parents planned to voice budget concerns of their own to Leggett on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, council members on the education committee questioned the affordability of 5 percent cost-of-living increases.
Andrews suggested a 3 percent increase instead, saying that for each percent decrease, the county saves more than $23 million and decreases the amount needed to be raised by property taxes.
Staff Writer Leah Fabel contributed to this article.
