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MD Local Governments Fret over Possible Pension Cost Shift
Officials polled by the Baltimore Sun said the
result of such a move by O’Malley would be local tax
hikes or dramatic service cutbacks. “There’s very little
I fear more than that,” Howard County Executive Ken Ulman
told the newspaper.
O’Malley spokesman Shaun Adamec told the Sun that while
O’Malley has a record of confronting state budget
problems directly – and not through a transfer – there
are no guarantees in the current economic situation. “The
governor’s made it clear that everything is on the
table,” Adamec said.
According to the news report, O’Malley now must decide
whether to make the system whole next year or over the
next 25 years.
“We’re fortunate to have a governor who comes from local government and understands these issues,” said Michael Sanderson, legislative director for the Maryland Association of Counties. O’Malley is a former Baltimore mayor.