Some on Council Balk at Raises in Union Contracts

"One would have thought that a more conservative approach would have been taken," Knapp said. "It looks like we're trying to play both sides. Do we have bad economic times, or do we need to have generous increases in our contracts?"

In a prepared statement, Leggett called the contracts "consistent with agreements throughout the region" and said Knapp does not fully understand collective bargaining. Leggett said he has limited flexibility because of past decisions by the council and the school system and because of the possibility of binding arbitration in the event of an impasse. He cited the council's approval in 2006 of a $13 million enhancement to pensions for school system employees.

"I believe the Council President voted in favor of additional pension enhancements and every collective bargaining agreement that has ever been placed before him, thereby establishing less than favorable conditions in which future executives must negotiate," he said in the statement.

The council, which controls the county's checkbook, is supposed to signal by May 1 whether it intends to approve the contracts. In the past 20 years, the council has said no to minor provisions but has not rejected a contract outright.

The thick documents are difficult to decipher even for seasoned council aides, and last week council members were just beginning to digest the fine print.

Duchy Trachtenberg (D-At Large), who chairs the council's fiscal policy committee, said that it was too soon to say how she would vote but that she is generally concerned about spending.

"Expenses have to be controlled, and clearly one of the biggest items we spend money on are the employee contracts," she said.

Marvin Weinman, president of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League, urged the council to hold a public hearing to examine the contracts.

"They are creating problems for the future by awarding contracts of that magnitude," he said. "The public doesn't seem to understand, and the public needs to be involved. It's their money."

For council member Nancy Floreen (D-At Large), it is a question "of how we treat our employees. . . . Getting residents the best and the brightest to serve them is an expensive proposition, no question about it."