John Matthews

WMAL.com

ROCKVILLE — (WMAL) The Montgomery County Council is set to decide Monday whether to further delay or to permanently cut proposed pay raises for most county employees.

The pay raises – a 3.5 percent step increase which had been intended as a “make-up” to employees after they were denied increases in 2011, 2012 and 2013 – were originally set to go into effect in July of this year, but were cancelled by the council as a cost-savings measure.

Most employees will still receive a cost of living increase as well as a scheduled step increase – an approximate four percent bump – in July.

County Executive Isiah Leggett renegotiated with county employee unions to restore the “make-up” pay bump next summer, but Council President Nancy Floreen predicts lawmakers will kill that plan as well.

“We feel that we’ve done a good job by our employees, and while this may ruffle a few feathers, we think this helps us stay on the path to sustainability going forward,” Floreen told WMAL.

Leggett’s original pay increase package would have been largely paid for by revenue coming from tax increases, and Floreen says that tipped the scale against residents.

“We certainly value what our employees do, but our residents deserve more, we felt,” said Floreen. “And so as we contemplate how we’re going to pay for all of this, all of my colleagues agree we need to deliver to our residents – the folks who are picking up the bill for all of this,” she added.

While county staff under County Executive Leggett negotiates union contracts, the County Council has final say over whether the contracts can be agreed to.

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