BALTIMORE — Mayor Brandon Scott has decided to veto the council bill effecting when elected city officials would be eligible for their pension.
It's a bill that had quite a bit of pushback as it would allow city council and other elected officials to have an early pension.
RELATED:Baltimore City Board of Ethics says new pension bill presents conflict of interest
Known as City Council Bill 22-0292, sponsored by City Council President Nick Mosby, it would reduce eligibility for pension from 12 years to eight for city officials that begin serving December 1 of this year.
In the decision to veto the bill, Scott sent a letter to Mosby stating "I cannot in good conscience sign a city council bill into law without the benefit of a complete and thorough analysis."
Also stating there is potential for ethical issues with the bill.
On Tuesday, Ethics Board Chairman Stephan Fogleman sent a letter to Scott asking for a delay signing the bill so that further review could be done.
Now that the bill was not signed into law, Fogleman says they will continue to review it for future elected officials.
"We're going to access all of the applicable case law, the other applicable analogues, and situations in other political jurisdictions that have dealt with this potential conflict of interest issue and bring all of those to the attention of the city council, the citizens of Baltimore and the mayor's office,” said Fogleman.
Baltimore City Council approved the bill 8 to 5 with two members abstaining on November 21. This happened after Baltimore voters approved Question K, which establishes a two term limit for elected officials.
Mayor Scott stated in the letter the pension change was introduced due to the passage of Question K, and since that doesn't go into effect until 2024, there is no urgency to act at this time.
RELATED: Mayor Scott vetoes City Council bill giving elected officials earlier pension
Some city council members, like Zeke Cohen, opposed the bill from the beginning due to the financial impact.
"It was highly inappropriate to pass this bill at a time when Baltimoreans are struggling on so many different dimensions and particularly when the finance department and the pension board both said in no uncertain terms that they wanted us to slow down, that they could provide some options that would preserve the pension system while not disrupting the city's finances,” said Cohen.
Councilman Mark Conway also agreed with the veto stating “Given the ethics board’s letter yesterday, if the bill is brought up for an override vote, I will vote no.”
Mosby has since issued a statement in response.
