At least one third of the Baltimore County Fire Department command staff could retire by the end of the year, according to fire Chief John J. Hohman.
Those eligible retirements—eight of 23 total command-level employees—include battalion chiefs, fire directors, division chiefs and assistant chiefs, Hohman said.
Hohman told Patch he is preparing to reorganize his command staff based partially on how many eligible employees are granted early retirement. Those wishing to take advantage of the must make their intentions known by Dec. 30 and must retire by Feb. 29.
“I have worked for the Baltimore County Fire Department for more than 34 years and I know all of those that are considering the retirement deal on both a professional and personal level and there is no doubt that I would miss each and every one of them,” Hohman said.
If accepted, employees can be credited for up to three years of additional service to their pension plan. The agency must then permanently close out the position or a similar one.
Hohman said if all eight of the command staff who expressed interest in the retirement deal take it, combined with expected civilian employee retirements, the department would save “a substantial amount of money” in excess of $1 million annually in salaries and benefits. The fire department’s budget for the current fiscal year is $92 million, Hohman said.
“Right now we are in a fluid situation because several who have expressed interest have not filed their paperwork and some may decide to change their mind,” Hohman said.
The potential command staff retirements come at a time when many within the department expect to see an increase , even those not eligible for the retirement benefit.
This belief comes after the . Pension figures for firefighter retirees are computed using the salary of an employees’ final year of service.
According to fire department figures, 64 employees retired in 2010 while 32 have left the department through Nov. 24 this year. In addition, 12 employees have signed their intent to retire by the end of the year while another 14—including eight in the command staff—have indicated they would like to retire by Feb. 12, 2012 under the incentive, but have not yet signed the paperwork.
“I don’t begrudge anyone for exploring their options and making the best decision for themselves and their family,” Hohman said. “When it comes to the rank-and-file members, they are not getting any raises and there are no raises coming on the horizons, so for some there is no additional incentive to stay.”
Hohman said he knows replacing much of that institutional knowledge will not be easy, but stresses cycles like this have occurred in the past and the department is prepared to adjust.
“I am an eternal optimist,” Hohman said. “I believe we have captains and others at individual stations that will step up to the plate and take on the responsibilities needed to keep us moving forward.”
A deal is a deal. Would you have the County renege on it's agreements? I have to hand it to you though, you aren't as smart as you think you are and you aren't as dumb as you look.
I was one of the first members of the FOP back when they were formed. When I was fired over a haircut the FOP refuse to represent myself and another officer. The FOP refused to represent either of us. We turned to the ACLU who took our case and we won after a four year battle. It was interesting because after the case all of the ones who would not support our efforts for a reasonable standard, were the first to grow their hair long as was the style in the early seventies. In my ADA issue the FOP again would not stand up for me and I told them the only way to stop Homan and Co. was to take the issue to the courts. They finally woke up when the Blake case was filed by Ms. Kahill, which I might add she won. There are 14 more pending. I have said this to you many times, you are not knowledgeable enough in many issues to make informed comments. You would rather spew vile juvenile comments. Speaking of class, at least my resume is a matter of record and not a figment of one's imagination. Speaking of looks, that head is a bit much.
If you actually qualified for a DROP then that would be an indication that the program was abused. A DROP program is only supposed to be utilized to retain valuable employees for up to 5 years. DROP's are cost neutral for the most part so you are having issues with people getting the money not the program. The County Councilmen aren't participants in the program so I don't know why you have an issue with them. It has to be a case of your Red Arse flaring up again.
I fully understand the haircut incident, as I was a neighbor of the other officer involved. They both won a good case. And Buzz: don't bother attacking me, I won't respond.
Actually I went down in the captains parking spot. The only reason they came after me was because I filed a WC case and since I was the second most senior officer on the force they wanted to send a message. Mr. Smith the Drop is the issue here along with the accumulated sick time, C/L and vacation time. In fact if you look at the retirement system anyone who has 20 years is vested is already guaranteed 50% of their salary. Steve, I think this link might help explain the program. http://archives.citypaper.net/articles/2010/04/22/philadelphia-city-council-drop-program
You being an "expert" on Baltimore County's retirement plans should be able to cite the Baltimore County's plan's shortcomings. What a Maroon!
That is always why the FD looses...even when they are short handed, over worked and under paid, they still rise to the occasion and do a stellar job. I would hate to see what happens if they ever decide to get the "blue flu" or only do the minimum to get by. The rank and file are always getting the short end of the stick...when they get sick, they don;t use their sick time because of intimidation and fear of being disciplined, they can't speak up for their rights for the same reason. And their union, when asked to help only answers...management has the right to manage, even if it's badly. What kind of a union is that! I feel bad for those that can't afford to retire yet.
http://resources.baltimorecountymd.gov/Documents/HumanResources/payschedules/ps7.pdf http://resources.baltimorecountymd.gov/Documents/HumanResources/payschedules/ps8.pdf Their base pay is $163,400 per year. A major with 30 + years of service who takes a five year Drop gives them $817,000 in cash. Now, with that in mind their pay is $628 per day. A 40 day leave by-out equals $25,000 in cash. In addition to that there could be a 240 hour compensatory leave buy-out which is $18,800 or a grand total of $860,000. Now take the sick days which are calculated that 22 sick days will equal a month of additional credible service towards retirement or $408 a month in added pension. A year’s sick time equals about $5,000. Now if 30 people in the fire and police departments take the options -- this figure may low -- it could be $24 million plus. This figure does not include other county employees who are eligible for retirement incentives. Other ranks eligible in the PD are captains and colonels. The fire department executive core rankings are a little different. I hope Mr. Armstrong's cardboard head doesn't start to spin after reading this.
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In other words you are long on the accusations and short on the evidence. Why don't you just say your in over your head, or do the research and answer your own questions. If you know AAC's rating then how come you can't find out the county's figures. If what you are insinuating is true, then why are they trying to force out everyone involved in these pension incentives? You ask me to cite the program and the figures which I did, now back up your own questions. As I said you are out of your league here.
http://soetalk.com/2011/08/15/4217/
Do teachers have DROPS?? No. (But maybe they should)
You raised questions about a specific issue in your comments about whether the program is cost neutral or not. Where is your reply on the numbers that will refute the Drop issue? Your comment: " Do teachers have DROPS?? No." Your other comment: " What does this even remotely have to do with a BCPD Command Exodus???". You have to answer your own question because you raised the issue not me. I was pointing something out to another comment. On the one hand you are asking about the command staff, and in the other hand you talk about the teachers. You might want to follow your own advice.
Par for the course.
They seem to think that Baltimore County is financially strong, and its leaders are moving in the right direction. What? Didn't they call you for your opinion? And, for the record, I don't follow many of your links, because they often have no direct bearing on your hypotheses.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bs-md-co-bond-rating-20111116,0,3645836.story This was the comment Kamenetz made regarding the bond ratings: "County Executive Kevin Kamenetz said he is pleased with the ratings, but added that the county must continue to find savings because revenues are not keeping pace with expenditures.". The same bond rating agencies also gave a triple A bond rating to the following companies: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Country Wide and Lehman Brothers. Is that par for the course or did that tee shot hit someone in a cardboard head.
And you've got the whole Country Wide and Lehman Bros. in the wrong column. Using the reality of the day, they were fine until the repercussions of deregulation raised their ugly heads. Municipalities are a far different creature. The overuse of conspiracy theories wears thin.
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1923197,00.html Hardly a "conspiracy theory.". The largest bankruptcy in U.S. history is not exactly a theory. Countrywide: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companiescountrywide_financial_corporation/index.html Barney has announced his retirement and with it goes his famous statements just before the collapse of Fanni Mae and Freddie Mac that everything was just peachy. The current state of the U.S. economy along with the Euro crisis is hardly another conspiracy theory. I used your preferred Washington Post link. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/european-debt-crisis-investors-confidence-shows-signs-of-crumbling/2011/11/27/gIQAFsJD3N_story.html "Less than 1 percent of counties nationwide have a AAA rating, county officials said." This quote came from the Sun. If the municipalities are a different creature why are only 1% receiving a Triple A Bond Rating? There is quite a contrast between a theory and reality.
Good for Baltimore County. The rest of your statements are just blather.
They are on a state pension system, not the county...so far. As far as bond rating, the county should give up some of the great credit they have before they take away services from the county residents.