Politics & Government

Layoffs, Furloughs on Horizon for Howard County

In a letter to Howard County employees, the county executive laid out the worst-case scenario if the governor's pension plan is passed.


Shifting some of the responsibilty for teacher pension costs from the state to the counties would be “devastating," County Executive Ken Ulman said in a letter sent to Howard County employees last week.

Ulman added that many of the county’s goals for the upcoming fiscal year are “at risk” and he discussed possible consequences.

To help close a $1.1 billion hole in the state’s budget, Gov. Martin O’Malley has proposed  from the state to counties, saving the state about $240 million.

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According to Ulman's office, those savings for the state would mean an additional $17.2 million burden on Howard County.

In the Feb. 9 letter to county employees, Ulman said that he has put a “more stringent conditional freeze on new hires,” and has suspended negotiations with some collective bargaining units.

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“We had hopes for continued avoidance of furlough days, but that may no longer be possible,” the letter read. “Unfortunately, we will likely have to consider the possibility of pay cuts and layoffs if the governor’s budget passes as proposed.”

Read the full letter from County Executive Ken Ulman at the Maryland Association of Counties website.


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