Politics & Government

Prince George's Executive Warns Budget Cuts to Public Safety Loom if Union Raises Approved

Prince George's County Executive Rushern L. Baker warns that education and public safety could face steep cuts.

Pay raises to Prince George’s County workers could result in cuts in education and public safety spending, County Executive Rushern L. Baker warned Tuesday, according to reports.

Baker’s office released a proposed 2012 fiscal budget that trimmed a total of $12 million from county schools, police and fire departments, and the county’s community college, according to The Examiner.

A contingent of local unions from AFSCME has been pleading with council members not to take back a 2010 agreement from former County Executive Jack Johnson that gave union members a 2 percent cost of living raise that would have started in January. .

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The council is weighing a resolution that would terminate the agreement after Baker recommended against the raises. About 1,500 county workers would be affected by the proposal. 

Baker has warned the council that the pay increases, coupled with a drop in housing tax collections, would postpone by at least two or three months the hiring of 165 police officers, 60 firefighters and 32 corrections officers, according to The Washington Post.

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Officials from Baker’s office said that if a raise is given to AFSCME unions, raises must be given to other unions in the county as well.

Councilwoman Karen Toles (D-Dist. 7) of Suitland, a former AFSCME employee who supports the wage increase, disputes the claim, according to The Examiner.

"What's before us right now is the AFSCME contract and nothing else," she said. "[There are] no other union contracts."

Still, Council Chairwoman Ingrid Turner (D-Dist. 3) of Bowie was quoted in The Examiner as saying that she plans to vote against the salary increase.

"I wish there was additional resources available, but I just don't see where we can continue to be financially sound and be able to provide the services and provide COLAs at the same time," she said.

A public hearing for the pay raise dispute is scheduled for Wednesday night in Upper Marlboro. A vote is expected May 17.


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