Council reviews proposed FOP contract that raises pay and opens pension design debate

Council and administration opened an extended work session on April 7 to review a proposed collective bargaining agreement with the Wicomico County Fraternal Order of Police (Lodge 11). Negotiators and union representatives briefed the council on the contract’s major elements: base salary increases, a 2.5% cost‑of‑living adjustment scheduled into implementation, modifications to personal days (moving proposed FOP personal days from four to six), sick‑leave/catastrophic sick‑time clarification, and a complex restructuring of how accidental‑disability (AD) benefits interact with the pension plan.

Finance director Pam Olen explained the immediate fiscal effects that will appear in the FY2027 budget packet — including salary increases and an additional estimated $750,000 that administration proposes to direct to the pension fund to cover the long‑term cost of higher wages and the COLA. Council members requested a clearer fiscal note for personal‑day changes and overtime exposure tied to coverage. Negotiators said some cost elements cannot be precisely calculated until staffing and retirements are known.

A central point of contention was pension disability structure. The draft returns to a model where an accidental‑disability benefit is paid entirely from an AD trust (tax‑free) rather than splitting between the pension (taxed) and the AD trust. The draft also removes a prior requirement that a deputy be vested in the pension to receive AD benefits (making AD eligibility available from day one) and clarifies offset calculations for workers’ compensation (excluding attorney and expert fees). Because the AD trust’s solvency matters for long‑term sustainability, the parties agreed to form a working group (equal representation from the county and union plus actuarial support) to study funding levels and to make nonbinding recommendations for future negotiations; any formal contract changes would still require council review and would not be subject to the agreement’s arbitration procedures while the working group is conducting analysis.

Council members pressed for written fiscal notes, clarity on the personnel manual versus union contract inconsistencies, and explicit assurances that any pension‑related changes would be brought to the full council and would follow the county code procedures. Negotiators said the language was intended to avoid opening arbitration midterm for a technical working‑group review. The session produced no final council action on adoption during the meeting; administration said the FY2027 budget will show the projected salary and pension funding impact in two weeks when the budget is published.