Some on Council Balk at Raises in Union Contracts

Sparks said the union is well aware of the fiscal challenges facing the county, and the highest raises are scheduled to coincide with an anticipated economic rebound, "when there will be more resources to be able to afford it."

The raises are also in line with the three-year contracts Leggett agreed to last year for police officers and general government workers, which were 29 percent and 26 percent, respectively, over three years for most employees.

For the school system's 21,000 employees, school officials signed off on general raises of 4.8 percent, 5 percent and 5.3 percent. Two-thirds of employees will continue to get annual incremental raises. The average salary for Montgomery's beginning teachers, 61 percent of whom have master's degrees, is $50,900.

Kerry Ryan, a firefighter at the Twinbrook station, called the raises "a little progress." She and her husband, Jaymie Birney, a firefighter at the Rockville station, have given up searching for a home they can afford nearby and are moving from a rental apartment in Rockville to a townhouse in Howard County.

"If I protect this community, then I should be able to live in this community," said Ryan, 26, who grew up in the county.

Under all of the new contracts, the county would save money on health care by relying more on generic drugs and encouraging employees to fill prescriptions through the mail. The county would continue to pay 80 percent of the standard health-care plan, but employees who choose additional coverage would have to make up the difference in cost.

"Employees are doing their part," Sparks said.

Adler said Montgomery has moved to control costs by setting up a 401(k)-style "defined-contribution" retirement plan for non-public safety employees hired since 1994. Others Washington area local governments have more traditional and more costly "defined-benefit" plans, he said.

Under another contract provision, most general government workers would have a one-time option to change to a retirement plan with a guaranteed return of 7.25 percent on employee and county contributions. Consultants hired by the county assume that the pension fund will achieve an 8 percent return and that the county will actually make money, Adler said. As of last month, though, the 10-year investment return on the county's pension fund was 6.85 percent.

"In the long run, it will work itself out," Adler said.

Discussions about contracts for firefighters, police and general government workers began last year as Leggett announced that the county was facing its deepest-ever budget shortfall. He called on the council to make mid-year budget trims and instituted a hiring freeze. Last week, Leggett issued another warning, telling council members, "This is the year to draw the line and say let's not go any further."

Council President Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty) said Leggett's approval of the contracts appears to run counter to his message about the need to slow down spending.