[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6663571,"mediaKeyId","2390003-8d15d1bd00749a859ae75594a18abe7d","parentId",2390003,"title","Analysts recommend cutting FY26 1% pay increase and using vacancy savings; DBM pushes back","audioSeconds",785,"startMs",85000,"endMs",870000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2390003-8d15d1bd00749a859ae75594a18abe7d&start=85&end=870","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2390003-8d15d1bd00749a859ae75594a18abe7d/thumbnail_85000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6663571/Maryland/Analysts-recommend-cutting-FY26-1-pay-increase-and-using-vacancy-savings-DBM-pushes-back","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6663571-3a7ffffc4db10b2fb2f8670ef25866c8/orig.mp4?Expires=1771193068&Signature=h5lOcpVZwpDAlikeDsfgBToj-U~aJQwTYnuhO3QhcP4oTCg5Sa7-5hEFBs~KT6LyHx1fEXcCMwkyFds6kw4anWOIInYwKw84Hzofq0dCO27WfKSPdkRFN0Ct3Ys98Mq5gimtRaBvo4VcLExwRHmsrAE~prJpmgnJ15AfF86Z5YGW0pcNIeL77M4CsnknpYXgjNTx14rpK29YXX8rJ05ElCgGb74gPAxOj5Lk977sweFTASNmOq5QSiM~GRGkjcIPzzE~jlWansplOPC1GMwjmQ37dnitchHclGarCal5fSJtYIGH9N2-lLpv-N6JN~3EQEuhl7BAMfAlS18Z01iL~A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Maryland General Assembly - Budget and Taxation","date","2025-02-25T19:51:07.97Z","article","Jacob Cash, a budget analyst for the Department of Legislative Services, briefed the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee on the fiscal 2026 personnel allowance for the Department of Budget and Management, Office of Personnel Services and Benefits. \"Starting on page 1, the allowance is $326,500,000,\" Cash said, then outlined DLS concerns including rising prescription costs, vacancy-driven savings, and several recommended technical and policy changes.

DLS recommended several adjustments to the governor's FY26 personnel allowance. Among the primary recommendations, DLS asked the committee to delete funding for a 1% general salary increase and to delete funding for FY26 increments, including judiciary merit raises. DLS also recommended reducing statewide salary funding by $85,200,000 to reflect observed vacancy savings and to set a budgeted turnover rate of 8.6%. Separately, DLS recommended adding budget-bill language to restrict $100,000 pending receipt of timely quarterly medical, dental and prescription drug cost reports.

The DLS presentation described the vacancy and staffing picture it used to support those recommendations. Exhibit figures shown by Cash indicated executive-branch vacancies peaked near 6,500 in October 2022, fell to about 4,732 in April 2023, rebounded to 5,346 in October 2023 and measured about 5,222 in January 2025. DLS noted filled executive-branch positions reached a peak of 46,644 in July 2024, and that the vacancy rate remains above 10.2%, which is higher than the allowance's budgeted 7.3% turnover rate.

Helene Grady, secretary of the Department of Budget and Management, responded to DLS on behalf of DBM. Grady said DBM accepts some DLS technical recommendations but strongly opposes deleting negotiated salary increases. \"DBM respectfully disagrees\" with DLS's recommendation to delete the 1% increase and increments, she said, arguing that the increases were reached through collective bargaining and should be honored. DBM also declined to concur with DLS's proposed $85.2 million reduction for vacancy savings, saying general fund turnover assumptions and ongoing recruitment initiatives limit the ability to take that reduction without creating operating shortfalls that would require future deficiency appropriations.

DBM did accept or concur with certain committee requests recommended by DLS: DBM agreed to the budget-bill restriction language pending quarterly benefit reports and to include the supplemental retirement match in FY27 as requested. DBM officials said they will prioritize more timely submission of required quarterly reports.

Committee members pressed DBM on the trade-offs between hiring to fill critical public-safety roles and using vacancy savings for broader budgetary relief. DBM said it has focused on filling critical roles, including converting contractual positions to permanent posts, and cautioned that across-the-board hiring freezes could worsen overtime costs and operational problems in some agencies such as corrections and health facilities.

Recommended actions and next steps from the DLS summary included: restricting $100,000 pending benefit reports; requesting an annual budget narrative and health insurance closeout information; reducing funding for general salary increases and increments (DLS recommendation); requesting accounting for the supplemental retirement match; and reducing funds for vacancy savings (DLS recommendation). DBM's formal responses to those items were recorded in its testimony to the committee as described above.

The committee heard public testimony later in the hearing from union leaders and front-line staff opposing any cuts to negotiated COLA or step increases; that testimony is reported separately.

Votes or formal committee action were not recorded in the transcript excerpts provided during the presentation portion of the hearing.

For the record: Jacob Cash presented the DLS analysis; Helene Grady spoke for DBM and took questions from committee members.

Ending: The personnel segment of the hearing concluded after public comment; the committee moved on to a voting session later in the afternoon.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","B&T Committee Session, 2/25/2025 #1","oneSentenceSummary","Jacob Cash, a budget analyst for the Department of Legislative Services, told the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee that the fiscal 2026 personnel allowance for the Department of Budget and Management totals $326,500,000 and recommended deleting funding for a proposed 1% general salary increase and reducing salary funding by $85.2 million to reflect vacancy savings.","taxTitle","Budget and Taxation Committee, SENATE, SENATE, Committees, Legislative, Maryland","taxId",15091,"location","Maryland","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6663562,"Union leaders and front‑line state employees urge senators not to cut negotiated raises, cite staffing and safety gaps",1065,2535000,3600000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2390003-8d15d1bd00749a859ae75594a18abe7d&start=2535&end=3600","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2390003-8d15d1bd00749a859ae75594a18abe7d/thumbnail_2535000.jpg","/articles/6663562/Maryland/Union-leaders-and-frontline-state-employees-urge-senators-not-to-cut-negotiated-raises-cite-staffing-and-safety-gaps","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6663562-c1f3c5c341b2ade13fcef3f1209cb2ae/orig.mp4?Expires=1771193068&Signature=RM3phHEGnDf~XR9VJWjOowe3yDBr69xrVM~je3Q2slAjS-stxXKVEqYfUwxTUgtjsIoOG5V~G6CxmWEZv5oZp7dKQXd3WRtSVOQ3ySz08u0RdmX5n2KR~r47z2CdHCPC01aBM4pdQLCTe16~d85ihWDj52gLk0RzX55RkXzjys9yAMSJ2cExay8CTg~kCS5GoFaQ9F0u31eYpnCk0i0q08MaJLjz6lJ13SazdNsICer-wkX~MnavsjPCnbYLwsliOMINiYbYCWO07Y4ePRCPrMlhi1LYAI6RErNbs4Zg-9pG3dIEJ7ZQvkfK9j8klqI310ixH~7ubGwyS6w9sBmsbg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Union leaders and front‑line state employees spoke during the public‑comment portion of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee hearing on the Department of Budget and Management personnel budget, urging senators to reject DLS's recommendation to void negotiated pay increases and to avoid further reductions that would worsen staffing shortages.

Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Council 3, told the committee, \"We strongly oppose the DLS's recommendation to cut the negotiated COLA and merit increases our members have earned for 2026.\" Moran said many state employees have lost ground to inflation over the past 15 years and urged the legislature to preserve the negotiated agreements.

Reneka Robinson, president of ASKMe Local 3661 and a parole and probation union leader, described staffing shortages in community supervision offices, saying in one example the Gaithersburg office had \"4 agents responsible for 633 offenders\" and that caseloads far exceeded recommended levels. She warned that inadequate staffing and pay undermine safety and the ability to intervene to prevent recidivism.

John Feeley, a correctional officer and president of ASME Local 1772, described chronic overtime and workplace danger at state prisons. \"For the money we spend on overtime we could just hire more officers or and pay us more,\" Feeley said, and he told senators the department projected about $230,000,000 in overtime in fiscal 2026. Feeley said short staffing contributes to assaults on staff and inmate‑on‑inmate violence.

Jenny Reese, a licensed practical nurse at Springfield Hospital Center and president of SME Local 539, urged lawmakers to invest in staffing at state psychiatric hospitals. Reese said more than 220 defendants were waiting in local detention centers because state hospitals lack staff to open empty units; she said opening roughly 60 beds could relieve pressure on local jails and better serve people in crisis.

Tanya Wolford, a revenue specialist at the Comptroller's office and recording secretary for a state employees' local, described high demand in taxpayer service centers and call centers and warned that understaffing and stagnant pay drive employees to higher‑paying jobs, lengthening trainings and reducing customer service capacity. \"I'm begging you not to cut my pay,\" Wolford said.

Todd Reynolds of the American Federation of Teachers in Maryland and Jerry Smith of the Maryland Professional Employees Council also urged lawmakers to approve the governor's recommended budget and honor negotiated agreements arrived at through collective bargaining.

Ending: Committee members thanked the witnesses; the transcript shows the personnel hearing concluded and the committee moved on to a voting session later in the afternoon.

","Union leaders and state employees told the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee to preserve negotiated cost‑of‑living and step increases and warned that cuts would worsen chronic staffing shortages and safety risks in corrections, mental‑health facilities, parole and probation, and taxpayer services.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6663567,"Most Medicare‑eligible retirees enrolled in Part D after DBM outreach; state expects first‑year savings",134,521000,655000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2390003-8d15d1bd00749a859ae75594a18abe7d&start=521&end=655","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2390003-8d15d1bd00749a859ae75594a18abe7d/thumbnail_521000.jpg","/articles/6663567/Maryland/Most-Medicareeligible-retirees-enrolled-in-Part-D-after-DBM-outreach-state-expects-firstyear-savings","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6663567-48179a4481b3bc0f3ffdf7e0a94d08de/orig.mp4?Expires=1771193068&Signature=Mq7gjQkb83i3isny4YB7YNejvwt-u6yKImsPD6ieD95ZWbRc4u-xE9oEHPaSo09XboWiIAU6yz7BE45HDRIeBxB605~CiMS0jp2zsxP3t~WIFpPo0RjwOMJdNqWa~VYCab10RaFCcpfytYxepUKv5sZdY22Dgkiv8mTQFkMvigD-GJscrreVFjSnZTg58qkXFvYKojl1t83cE3ehMlPRPP89nopymcsXaFlQi8xMOkTpw7A0QfghoJtyGul9CZ2w0L-yX1Otvk6tSjLpUmEimsSBH8suA38ykhEbKq-qf6HKV7Q73IH-KLv-2-cLUqzkciNiNWZO5O22m0bTHG7YOA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Department of Legislative Services reviewed the Department of Budget and Management's transition of retiree prescription drug coverage to Medicare Part D and summarized initial enrollment results and projected savings.

Jacob Cash, the DLS analyst, told the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee that DBM and its benefits administrator, VIA Benefits, contacted 56,595 retirees and their dependents and an additional group of Medicare‑eligible retirees not previously on the state prescription drug plan. \"Of the total group, approximately 84 percent were enrolled by VIA benefits and 2 percent announced plans to enroll through other means,\" Cash said. \"Approximately 14 percent either did not enroll or provided no response.\"

DLS reported that DBM extended the special enrollment period through the end of February to allow additional enrollments. DBM officials told the committee the transition's call-center wait times grew as the outreach intensified but that customer satisfaction remained high.

DLS said the transition is expected to produce an estimated $50,000,000 in first‑year cost savings and that amount annualizes to about $100,000,000 in recurring savings. The DLS presentation also cited relevant statutory history, noting that earlier legislation sought to terminate the state's prescription drug coverage for Medicare‑eligible retirees but that litigation delayed implementation until the suit was dismissed in September 2023; another statute established health‑reimbursement support for retirees enrolling in Part D.

DBM staff confirmed to the committee that it procured a benefits administrator and provided counseling services to retirees, and that DBM extended outreach and enrollment supports to reach tens of thousands of retirees. The transcript records a family maximum for a health reimbursement account of $2,000 in calendar 2025 and 2026; the analyst's spoken transcript for the individual reimbursement amount was not clearly stated in the hearing record provided.

Ending: DBM said it continues to support retiring employees through counseling and administrative assistance during the transition and will provide additional data in the requested quarterly reports.

","DLS and DBM reported on the transition of retiree prescription coverage to Medicare Part D. DBM said outreach reached more than 56,000 retirees and dependents, VIA Benefits enrolled roughly 84 percent of contacted retirees, and the department estimated roughly $50 million in first‑year savings, annualizing to about $100 million.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Analysts recommend cutting FY26 1% pay increase and using vacancy savings; DBM pushes back

Union leaders and front‑line state employees urge senators not to cut negotiated raises, cite staffing and safety gaps

Most Medicare‑eligible retirees enrolled in Part D after DBM outreach; state expects first‑year savings