A Montgomery County Council panel tentatively approved on Monday compromise legislation aimed at overhauling the county’s police officer disability pension system that does not include key recommendations made by county officials or outside consultants.
The council agreed to change the makeup of the medical review board that determines a county police officer’s eligibility for a disability pension and other procedural issues. But it stopped short of instituting a two-tiered system that would pay different amounts to hurt officers based on the severity of an injury.
Instead, the legislation was amended to require that a two-tiered system be negotiated by County Executive Ike Leggett and the Fraternal Order of Police union into the next collective bargaining contract.
Several of the county’s elected officials have been pushing for reforms to the disability pension system after reports that the system was ripe for potential abuse. The county’s inspector general found that half of the county police officers who retired in a three-year period qualified for disability pay, including some who went on to work at physically demanding jobs.
Council President Phil Andrews, D-Gaithersburg/Rockville, who has co-sponsored legislation seeking more oversight into the disability pensions program, said the changes to the review panel amounted to key improvements. He added that the approved legislation was a “definite” step toward a two-tier system that didn’t overreach into the collective bargaining process by mandating specifics payout percentages.
“I’m a reasonable person,” Andrews said. “My goal is to get a reasonable two-tier system in place as soon as possible.”
But some council members expressed concern that the amendment mandating a negotiated two-tier system wasn’t an appropriate move by the council.
“To dictate to the unions and to dictate to the executive. … I just don’t think that’s the intention of bargaining,” said Councilwoman Valerie Ervin, D-Silver Spring.
The legislation would not deny disability pay for county employees who commit crimes or other misdeeds that would get them fired, which was recommended by both a work group Leggett convened and Inspector General Thomas Dagley.
The full council is set to vote on the legislation May 12.
