BALTIMORE — Baltimore City's Board of Ethics has a problem with a recently passed council bill that changes the number of years elected officials have to serve in office before earning a pension.
On Tuesday the Board wrote a letter to Mayor Brandon Scott requesting that he hold off on signing the bill into law, pending an advisory review.
"The Board believes that certain terms of Bill 22-0292 do not appear to be impartial or a product of independent judgment and that the appearance of or lack of impartiality could undermine – and may have already undermined – public confidence in the execution of City governance." wrote the board. "The Ethics Board is concerned that it is impossible for the current Council, while in term, to have voted in favor of the amendment without giving the appearance of a conflict of interest; the terms of the Bill as written and approved by a majority of the Council serve the private and/or personal interests of the current Council members themselves."
NEW: Baltimore City Ethics Board asking @MayorBMScott to delay signing bill that reduces the time elected officials need to serve to earn a pension (12yrs to 8).
— Mallory Sofastaii WMAR (@mal_sofastaii) November 29, 2022
Board believes certain parts of bill "do not appear to be impartial" & wants to provide an advisory opinion @wmar2news https://t.co/muwsIGQZMe
Council Bill 22-0292 as it's known, was sponsored by Council President Nick Mosby. It proposes that elected City officials who begin serving as of December 1 this year, would be eligible for a pension after eight-years, as opposed to 12 required by existing law.
The bill passed after Baltimore City voters overwhelmingly approved Question K, imposing eight-year term limits on their elected leaders.
Leading up to its passing, many in the community and even some councilmen pushed back against the bill.
RELATED: Bill giving elected City officials earlier pension passes in 8-5 vote
The group People for Elected Accountability and Civic Engagement described the bill as "brazen greed, corruption, and self-serving."
Baltimore City's Fraternal Order of Police called it "one of the most egregious privileged class moves against labor in the history of Baltimore City."
Councilman Zeke Cohen was among five sitting members to vote against the bill.
In a tweet prior to the vote, Cohen seemed to echo the Ethics Board's concerns.
"We know that trust in government is strained. Any perception of self-dealing is toxic."
Ryan Dorsey, another council member opposed to the bill, said he hopes to repeal Question K all together.
Meanwhile some experts from the City's Finance Department and Retirement Savings Plan Systems, raised concern about the bill and its potential financial impact on taxpayers.
Mosby however has continued to defend the bill despite criticism.
"The only other result would have been we would of kept paying into a pension system that we would of never had access to because of Question K," said Mosby after the bill's passage.
Other supporters of the bill claim the pension system's current setup could deter people from running for future office.
So far, Scott hasn't indicated whether he supports the bill or not.
