Politics & Government

Howard County Firefighter Speaks Out Against Pension Shift

'We will be in big trouble' if pension burden shifts to counties, says firefighter and president of the Howard County Professional Fire Fighters Association.

Despite the fact that the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue services is funded by a special tax, firefighters are still concerned that a shift in responsibility for a part of teacher pensions could spell trouble for fire and rescue services.

At Tuesday’s , Rich Ruehl, president of the Howard County Professional Fighters Association, appealed to local legislators to fight Gov. Martin O’Malley’s plan to , which are currently paid by the state.

County fire and rescue services are funded by property taxes and not through the general fund, which would bear the burden of teacher pension costs. But since property values have gone down, the revenue generated by the fire and rescue tax has also been shrinking, Ruehl noted. 

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According to Budget Administrator Ray Wacks, property values have gone down “pretty dramatically” over the past three years. Since 2010, he said, the total assessable base in Howard County has fallen from $50.2 billion to $44.8 billion.

In the past, Ruehl said, fire and rescue service would look to the county for supplemental funding. But if the county has an extra $17.2 million in funding responsibilities from the governor's plan to shift some cost of the teachers' pensions, securing any additional funding from the county might not be an option.

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Like the , Ruehl said county fire and rescue services could face staff reductions if the county were to take on the extra cost of teacher pensions. There could also be rotating facility closures, he said, as well as stalled development on projects in progress.

“If we don’t get new revenue sources,” he said, “we will be in big trouble.”

The governor’s plan might include some additional funding sources, Wacks said, but those proposals are getting some pushback.

Unless and until those additional funding sources are accepted, Ruehl said, “We’re expecting the worst.”


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