Tag: Eloise Foster
Unions, pension board unhappy O’Malley cut $100M in promised payment to retirement fund
The largest unions representing state workers and public school teachers are upset at Gov. Martin O’Malley’s decision to permanently cut $100 million from extra payments into the state pension system. The money came from additional employee salary deductions required by a 2011 pension reform, and was intended to help cure underfunding in the pension system.
Read MoreMore Md. bond funding in the works
The O’Malley administration on Wednesday successfully pushed to raise next year’s bond authorization to $1.16 billion, $75 million more than this year, rejecting objections by state Comptroller Peter Franchot that “we’re adding another Christmas tree ornament.”
“We can’t afford it,” Franchot told the Capital Debt Affordability Committee, saying it should stick to this year’s bond authorization of $1,085,000,000.
Read MoreContractor salaries questioned as state moves to paper ballot voting system
State election officials are planning to spend up to $1.2 million to hire just five contractors working for nine months, a high-dollar figure that has shocked key lawmakers and voter advocacy groups watching as the state transitions from touch-screen voting to paper ballots.
Read MoreObamacare will force state government to spend millions on health care for contract employees
State budget officials do not know how many state employees will qualify for medical coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act, or how much it will cost to comply with provisions beginning Jan. 1.
That number could be as high as $88 million for Maryland government
Read MoreUncollected tolls, alternative-fuel cars, unthreatened open space on BPW agenda
The Board of Public Works, which ultimately approves much of Maryland spending, on Wednesday heard about plans to collect millions in unpaid tolls and heard about how Maryland was using alternative fuel vehicles. It also approved acquisition of Garrett County open space not yet threatened by development.
Read More$1.1 billion state debt limit approved for 2014, despite Franchot objections
The Capital Debt Affordability Committee Monday recommended that the state could afford to float an additional $150 million bonds in fiscal 2014, bringing the total to $1.075 billion – but not the extra $750 million over five years the O’Malley administration had requested.
Read More$390 million rise in state employee health insurance raises concerns about costs and quality
Maryland’s Board of Public Works voted Wednesday to increase spending authority on health care benefits for state employees by nearly $390 million. Budget Secretary Eloise Foster said the increase would pay for more people joining the state’s plan since the original health care authorization in 2008. Comptroller Peter Franchot raised concerns about the quality of care the added costs would pay for.
Read MoreMay tax hikes help drive slight Md. revenue growth, as fiscal cliff still looms
May tax hikes are helping drive a $181 million uptick in Maryland revenues forecast this fiscal year, the Board of Revenue Estimates determined Monday. But state financial officials are still concerned that Congress has not acted to keep the national budget from falling off a fiscal cliff in 2013, with expiring tax cuts and mandatory spending reductions sending the economy into a second recession.
Read MoreRevenues were slightly higher than expected in fiscal 2010
By Megan [email protected] Despite an overall decline in revenues, there was reason to celebrate at Wednesday’s Board of Public Works meeting. “The good news is that we managed to outperform the catastrophic...
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