County Sued Over Pension Loan
The law suit filed in Baltimore County Circuit Court seeks to stop a loan to the county that would be used to build a recycling facility in Cockeysville.
The union that represents Baltimore County Police is seeking to stop a $21 million loan from the pension system to the county for a new recycling facility.
The 10-page lawsuit filed late last week by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 4 alleges that the board of trustees for the Baltimore County Employees Retirement System failed to do its duty to protect the pension system including:
- Failing to obtain adequate collateral to cover the loan.
- Failure to seek advice on the potential legal and tax implications of making such a loan.
- Entering in a loan agreement that jeopardizes the pension system's tax exempt status.
"The county is using the employees pension plan to fund capital projects," said Cole Weston, president of the police union. "To fund capital projects like this is very concerning."
The loan will be used to pay for a new recycling facility in Cockeysville. It's the same facility for which the Baltimore County Council approved $25 million in bond sales last November.
The pension board and the county signed a formal loan agreement in December and made the first disbursement of more than $3.7 million to the county on Dec. 31. A second disbursement of nearly $3.1 million was made to the county last week.
In all, the county will receive 10 additional payments over the next year for a total of more than $21 million, according to the law suit.
The suit seeks to have the court bar the county pension system from making additional scheduled loan disbursements to the county. The suit also asks the court to order the county repay nearly $7 million already received from the pension system.
Don Mohler, a county spokesman, said the county had not received a copy of the lawsuit and he could not comment on the specifics.
Mohler said the pension plan is guaranteed an interest rate in excess of the annual average rate of return expected for pension investments.
"Every step we have taken along the way has been to protect employee benefits and the taxpayer," said Mohler.
tack8
9:25 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
"Mohler said the pension plan is guaranteed an interest rate in excess of the annual average rate of return expected for pension investments '
So we, the Baltimore County taxpayers, are paying a higher interest rate for this "loan" than we should?
JDStuts
9:44 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Don't worry about it. David Marks is going to sell the current Towson fire station property in a still not recovered real estate market in order to build a new one and put air conditioning in the schools.
This is solid financial management you are witnessing here. Oh, and if anything goes wrong, the tax base can cover the mistakes.
reader
9:50 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
This is the problem with the whole bond (think debt) system. The county, election after election, floats bonds to pay for projects. The debt keeps piling up. Voters need to stop and think how the debt keeps mounting. To pay the debt taxes must be raised. It should be more of pay as you go or when you have saved enough funds to pay for a project.
FIFA_archived
3:03 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
You have no clue as to how massive projects get funded. Do you borrow to buy a car or a house, or do you pay cash? You should have your voting card revoked.
RG
9:53 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
How do these loans come to be? Was this a bill that was voted? A committee that made this decision? Executive decision?
Sanchez
9:58 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
"It's the same facility for which the Baltimore County Council approved $25 million in bond sales last November."
Can Bryan Sears clear this up? Did the voters approve this bond sale on the November ballot? If so, where did that money go? why do they need a loan from the pension fund if it was approved in November?
Do bond issues REQUIRE BY LAW that the money approved is actually spent on the project approved by the taxpayers?
Bryan P. Sears
12:08 am on Thursday, February 7, 2013
No, this is not related to November capital budget issues on the ballot. This issue is a loan from the pension system to the county government to build this facility and does not require voter approval. It did require pension system approval and council approval—both obtained.
Bonnie Hauge
1:32 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Off-subject but refresh my memory, wasn't the Lottery supposed to have been a dedicated revenue source?
jim rising
2:29 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
@Stuts, David Marks was the deciding vote last year against Kamenetz's union bill. His independence is one reason the F.O.P. has strongly supported his election. You seem to really dislike Mr. Marks- you should run against him if you have not already.
-Jim
Bart
8:13 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
It's time to ban JD Stuts. His or her comment over the weekend was deleted, and now this user makes deceptive and unrelated comments again. I stand with David Marks, not haters like JD Stuts.
Bill Goodman
10:22 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
I don't understand all of the uproar. Kamenitz has always been a thieving politician, those who voted for him just didn't do their homework. If you helped put him in office, you are getting what you voted for!
Karl
1:50 am on Friday, February 8, 2013
Here's the issue: County police and the County fund the pension system. Then the County borrows some of that pension money for capital spending. Then the economy continues to dive. The county discontinues contributions to the pension fund and defaults on the loan. The police don't get their full pensions because the politically appointed pension board, including Chief Jim Johnson, put pension money in the same basket along with capital spending. Just like ENRON grabbed employees' 401K money to bolster it's own worth. The County wouldn't be doing this if they could get a lower rate elsewhere. They are taking advantage of the police. When ENRON did this it was against the law. I suspect it still is.
Lablover
10:14 am on Friday, February 8, 2013
Will this have any impact on the DOUBLE pension Kamenentz, Gardina, Jablon, Moxley etc. receive or is their pension guaranteed?
AGDSG
3:37 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
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