TPA Urges Baltimore County Council Members to Support Pension Reform

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) urged Baltimore County Council members to rein in their rising compensation—after the council passed legislation in 2024 to increase pensions. Recently, an advisory board recommended going in the other direction and increasing council salaries from the current $69,000 a year to $140,000.

The County Council will vote Monday on repealing the current pension plan. If passed, this measure would likely reduce taxes levied on Baltimore County residents.

David Williams, President of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, offered the following comment:

“Baltimore County residents rightly wonder why elected officials appear so eager to enrich themselves while taxpayers shoulder the cost. Proposals to dramatically raise council salaries—on top of already-high retirement benefits—suggest a troubling disconnect between the council and the people it serves. Eliminating pension benefits based on hypothetical pay raises is an important step in the right direction. Public office should be about stewardship and accountability, not using the government to pad pockets.

“Even while this vote takes place, there is a larger issue at play. Lawmakers controlling their own salary and retirement benefits creates all the wrong incentives and sets the stage for perpetual pay hikes. The current framework risks allowing officials to leverage short-term salary increases into outsized retirement benefits funded by taxpayers for decades to come. That kind of arrangement invites public skepticism—for good reason—and undermines trust in local leadership.

“Council members should support pension reform and pass measures that would limit their ability to increase their own compensation. Baltimore County taxpayers deserve better than the broken status quo.”

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The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis, and dissemination of information on the government’s impact on the economy.