Officials in Maryland's Montgomery County gave unionized workers — and themselves — big raises. Now they can't afford them.

Government-workforce politics have gotten very interesting in Maryland's Montgomery County, which includes a number of affluent Washington, D.C., suburbs. Unions are unhappy because their negotiated pay raises were unilaterally trimmed by the county council and because one council member has proposed changing the county's collective-bargaining laws in ways that don't sit well with labor. Meanwhile, homeowners are unhappy because of the biggest property-tax hike in seven years.
When you sort it all out, one-party government might just be a big part of the problem.
As chronicled in the Washington Post, the $5.3 billion budget the council approved in May included a nearly 9 percent property-tax hike that adds $326 annually to the average residential tax bill. The budget also increased a tax on recording real estate transactions that raises the cost of buying or selling a $500,000 house by $455....

http://www.governing.com/blogs/bfc/col-montgomery-county-maryland-self-inflicted-compensation-crisis.html

Justify My...Salary

Tonight two union bosses – one MCPS, one county - will be at the Taxpayers' League meeting to answer questions.

One of the questions from the Taxpayers' League includes this information:

Q8. MCPS teachers have a system of 20-step increases within each salary grade, all of which are automatic. The current system of step increases has resulted in the highest pay going towards athletic instructors...

As a personal point of interest, do taxpayers - which includes parents - in general believe all teachers should be paid the same?

To open up the discussion on this question, data have been gathered from the two sources below. This is just a small sampling of Elementary School (ES) Physical Education (PE) teachers' salaries; no Middle School PE teachers or High School PE teachers have been included. And this does not include all the ES physical education teachers who make over $75K or even over $100K.

Comparison of 2006 and 2010 Salaries: MCPS Elementary School PE Teachers

Listed as: initials of PE teacher @ initials of elementary school # of tenured years (from 2010 Gazette source).

SL @ BTES Bethesda 11.83 yrs
2006 - $ 91,195
2010 - $101,354
Increased $10,159 over 4 yr = 11.1%

DH @ LBES Clarksburg 13.83 yr
2006 - $88,960
2010 -$103,354
Increased $14,394 over 4 yr = 16.1%

KA @ RCVES Rockville 16.83 yrs
2006 - $78,665
2010 - $95,535
Increased $16,870 over 4 yr = 21.4%

RB @ DCDES Silver Spring 17.83 yrs
2006 - $81,411
2010 - $101,354
Increased $19,943 over 4 yr = 24.5%

DM @ CES Silver Spring 20.83 yrs
2006 - $92,462
2010 - $101,095
Increased $8,633 over 4 yr = 9.3%

DS @ DES Gaithersburg 21.83 yr
2006 - $88,960
2010 - $103,634
Increased $14,674 over 4 yr = 16.5%

CW @ RMES Germantown 28.83 yrs
2006 - $93,247
2010 - $105,134
Increased $11,887 over 4 yr = 12.7%

AB @ GES Brookville 30.42 yrs
2006 - $93,247
2010 - $103,634
Increased $10,387 over 4 yr = 11.1%

TP @ CCES Chevy Chase 31.83 yrs
2006 - $90,962
2010 - $101,095
Increased $10,133 over 4 yrs = 11.1%

The average MCPS teacher salary – the highest in the state – is $75,882

The median MCPS teacher salary is $75,167

This comparison of current salaries for elementary school physical education teachers and their salaries from 4 yr ago is food for thought - something that should be discussed during these tough fiscal times.

As the Black Eyed Peas sing, "Let's get it staaaarrr-ted..."

Sources:
for 2006 salaries - Examiner MCPS Partial Salary Database
for 2010 salaries - Gazette What They Earn [updated link 12/1/11]