OC Today
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HOMELAND SECURITY With post-9/11 programs back in the news, OC fortunate for $5.1M from fed initiative – Page 16
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LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT AGAIN Participants in the Maryland Law Enforcement Torch Run make their way down the Boardwalk Monday morning. This is the 30th year for the relay, which brings the Special Olympics' "Flame of Hope" to the summer games at Towson University, which start today. Police officers and sponsors raised more than $2 million for the Special Olympics last year.
County tax rate jumps By Brian Gilliland Staff Writer (June 5, 2015) Starting July 1, Worcester County residents will see their property tax rate increase by 6.5 cents per $100 of assessed value to 83.5 cents, and Jan. 1, 2016 will bring a one-half percent hike to the income tax, increasing it to 1.75 percent. In a 5-2 vote, with Commissioners Bud Church and Joe Mitrecic against, the Worcester County Commissioners officially adopted the fiscal 2016 budget. Mitrecic said he supported the budget and the tax increases, but the exclusion of
funding for raises and costof-living increases for county employees and teachers, along with the elimination of an additional $200,000 to Ocean City’s grant, changed his mind. Mitrecic said the increased grant to Ocean City was not a fix for what the resort sees as double taxation, but would have “gone a long way” to stave off possible litigation. For years, Ocean City has desired a tax differential to offset the taxes resort residents pay for county services they don’t use because resort government provides them. Instead of a budget re-
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quest this year, Ocean City officials offered a memorandum of understanding that would phase in a differential. Church called the budget “short-sighted,” and said it did the most harm to employees who earn the least. Commissioner Chip Bertino of Ocean Pines, however, said the tight strictures on spending were necessary. “It’s not going to make everyone happy but does what needed to be done,” Bertino said. Earlier this year, County Treasurer Phil Thompson delivered the county’s revenue See COUNTY Page 5
Educators protest with ‘work to rule’ Wilson considering cost neutral way to grant teacher raises
By Brian Gilliland Staff Writer (June 5, 2015) At least a few teachers from each of Worcester’s 14 schools are participating in a “work to rule” salary protest in response to the absence of a raise in the Worcester County Commissioners’ budget for the next fiscal year.
“Work to rule” means doing only what the rules or contract require and nothing more. In this case, the teachers are entering school at the exact time they are required and leaving promptly at the end of the school day. The idea is to demonstrate how much more teachers in the county do beyond the dictates of their contract. During budget work sessions late last month, the commissioners voted See MONEY Page 5
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PAGE 3
County budget not end of salary debate Board of Ed. to consider funding reallocation within spending limits for raises
By Brian Gilliland Staff Writer (June 5, 2015) Money for employee salary increases was not included in Worcester County’s 2016 budget, but that doesn’t mean the discussion is over for teachers. County employees, on the other hand, have little choice but to grin and bear it. Like the board of education employees, county workers also operate on a step system. Their annual base salaries are expected to increase with favorable reviews and additional experience. But like the proposed funding for teacher pay raises, the money for county employee pay increases was spiked in the budgeting process. County Administrator Harold Higgins said the people he oversees realize the county’s situation and haven’t protested in the ways the teachers have. Worcester teachers have begun working to the exact terms of their contract and are expected to continue to the end of this school year, June 18. “I was hoping for a better turnout, but I’m confident the Board of Education will work with us,” Beth Shockley-Lynch, president of the Worcester County Teachers Association said, “I give Commissioners Church and Mitrecic credit for their comments, but we have better relationships with the board [of Education] than here [at the county].” Commissioners Bud Church and Joe Mitrecic voted against the fiscal 2016 budget, due in no small part to the elimination of salary increases for employees. The county commissioners allocate funds to the Board of Education in 13 separate areas, one of which is employee salaries. The teachers association negotiates pay based upon the salary allocation. With the county’s approval, the school board could move funding from one area to an-
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other, and while this is usually done at the end of the calendar year, there is no rule preventing that from happening now. That assumes the money can be found. Indeed, all seven of the county commissioners said they would listen to a proposal developed by the board of education. “If they take responsibility for the lost services, I’d be fine with it,” Mitrecic said, “Can they cut out all after-school programs? No, but I understand if that’s what they need to do. If there are no teachers it doesn’t matter if we have the programs or not.” Commissioners Chip Bertino, Ted Elder, Diana Purnell and Merrill Lockfaw said they would listen to a proposal. “I’ve always advocated that the
board of education should operate within their budget. I’ll take a look at it, but it’s got to be requested,” Commissioner Jim Bunting said. Church also had conditions. “As long as it doesn’t interfere with the operation of their facilities or the curriculum, I’d be OK. I’d entertain their proposal but my vote would depend on their plan,” he said. The schools, however, maintain there are only so many places to get the money. “With 90 percent of our operating budget directed toward salaries, benefits and bus contracts,” Chief Financial Officer Vincent Tolbert said, “the choices of where to realize reductions are limited. We have to allocate revenues toward operations and fixed expenditures such as heating, cooling and electricity. There
are no options there. We would likely be forced to look at position reduction.” To reduce positions, the board would need to negotiate with the teachers’ union and the Worcester County Education Support Personnel Association, the non-teacher board of education employee union. “We present a budget to county commissioners that reflects what we need to sustain excellence and to fairly compensate our employees. Our budget proposal has been negotiated with the WCTA and the WCESPA,” Worcester County School Superintendent Jerry Wilson said. “Since the commissioners have passed a budget which does not fund our needs, we must go back to the negotiation table and reach another agreement.”
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