Worcester could be hit hard by teachers pension plan

SNOW HILL -- A plan by Gov. Martin O'Malley and state legislators to pass along teacher pension costs to counties could cost Worcester County about $1 million, but state grants will cushion the blow of that expense for Wicomico and Somerset counties.
For the new fiscal year that starts July 1, Maryland's 23 counties and Baltimore City could end up having to foot half the cost of teacher pensions, which until now have been paid by the state. The proposed 50/50 split is part of O'Malley's proposed budget.
Most counties would have to pay millions of dollars toward pension costs. Wicomico's share is $3.8 million, Worcester's is $2.22 million and Somerset's is $836,000, according to a Senate bill that addresses state spending for fiscal 2013.
And, as a way to offset that burden, the state is offering financial aid in the form of new proposed revenues. That funding is called "disparity grant relief," and it aims to help poorer jurisdictions pay for public services.
Counties can qualify for a disparity grant based on how much revenue they raise from local income taxes, and how that amount measures up against a statewide average.
If a jurisdiction's per capita income tax revenues total more than 75 percent of the statewide average, they are considered well-off in budget terms -- and don't get the money.
Worcester County's income tax figure is $436.55 per capita, which falls above the $415 cut-off and makes the county ineligible to receive a disparity grant for fiscal year 2013. The figures comes from fiscal year 2010, which is the most recently available data, according to state budget and policy analysts.
Some other state grants are still routed to Worcester. But in the end, Worcester could be stuck paying as much as $1.08 million more to handle its share of teacher pension funding, according to the fiscal 2013 budget proposal.
Somerset and Wicomico do qualify for the special grant funding, and that lessens the impact of the pension cost-shifting for them. Taking the disparity grants into account, Somerset would be asked to find an extra $278,000 and Wicomico to budget $788,000. Other areas that qualify for disparity grant funding include Allegany, Caroline, Dorchester, Garrett and Prince George's counties, as well as Baltimore City.