Insider Politics Blog

Baltimore County Attorney Claims Bias In Federal Investigations

A attorney for Baltimore County, in an email, writes that federal agencies have unjustly "hounded and harassed" the county.

Baltimore County officials believe a recent spate of federal investigations that have gone against the county is driven by bias rather than evidence. The claims are part of an email written by Paul Mayhew, an assistant Baltimore County attorney. The message was sent to a private list of other county government litigators in Maryland. The Maryland State Bar Association manages the list. "For the last five years or so we have been hounded and harassed by the EEOC and the DOJ," Mayhew wrote in the April 4 email. [A copy of the email is attached to this story.] Baltimore County Attorney Michael Field confirmed that the email, obtained by Patch from a source who requested anonymity, was authentic. "We don't feel like we get anything close to a …

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Buzz Beeler

8:55 am on Saturday, April 13, 2013

Phone calls that come to me from sources is not "eavesdropping." Read "All the President's Men," you'll learn something. Show me one blog that was not true. How's that all vet's FD class going? You know, the one you gossiped about. You just can't measure up!   more ›

Council Approves Changes To Pension Appeals

Councilwoman Vicki Almond is the lone dissenting vote as an 11th hour push to table the legislation fails.

A change to how county employees appeal pension decisions was approved despite an 11th hour attempt to delay the final vote. The Baltimore County Council Tuesday night voted 6-1 in favor of the legislation that moves the appeals process from a seven-member panel appointed by the council to one of two administrative law judges appointed by the county executive. Councilwoman Vicki Almond, a Reisterstown Democrat, was the lone vote against the bill and three amendments. Almond, reading from a prepared statement, said the bill would affect the integrity of the council and "county employees for years to come." She said conflicting legal opinions offered by County Attorney Michael Field and county legislators in the General Assembly was reason …

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moe green

5:29 am on Tuesday, March 26, 2013

another member of the stay at home but want to get paid crowd. how about you lose forty pounds, join a gym and stop smoking?   more ›

Bill Changes Rules On Pension Appeals

County officials say the proposed changes make appeals more efficient, professional while critics say the county is stacking the deck in its favor.

A proposal to change how some pension appeals are dealt with in Baltimore County has some crying foul. The bill, requested by County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, would move such appeals from the County Council-appointed Board of Appeals to one of two administrative law judges appointed by the executive. Don Mohler, a county spokesman, said the goal is to improve efficiency and provide another layer of hearings for employees while at the same time improving the professionalism of the system. "These are complex issues," Mohler said of the pension appeals. Labor groups say the county is looking to rig the process in its favor after a number of decisions that have gone in favor of employees. "We're fixing a system that doesn't appear to be broken…

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County Sued For Age Discrimination, Disability Act Violations

A lawsuit filed on behalf of a county employee seeks more than $2 million for each of four alleged violations.

A 71-year-old man who claims the county forced him into retirement has filed suit in federal court alleging age discrimination and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. William Galanti, a 30-year employee of the county's highways bureau, filed the claim this week in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. The four-count suit alleges one count of age discrimination as well as being forced to submit to illegal medical exams, harassment and illegal discharge. The suit sees more than $2 million plus interest and attorney's fees for each of the four counts. "Mr. Galanti is a fabulous gentleman who for over three decades did hard work for the county and the community plowing snow and digging ditches," said Kathleen Cahill, an attorney …

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Court Rejects County Appeal on Rowe Pension Case

The Court of Special Appeals decision is the latest to go against the county in its case against former County Auditor Brian Rowe.

UPDATED (6:53 p.m.)—Maryland's Court of Special Appeals has denied an appeal by Baltimore County to reconsider a pension decision involving a former county auditor. In its decision, the three-judge panel ruled that the Baltimore County Board of Appeals had not made a mistake when it ruled in 2008 that the county incorrectly calculated Brian Rowe's pension. The appeals court also declined to enter a monetary judgment in the appeal in favor of Rowe but the judges ruled that “the County is obligated to pay Rowe his underpaid retirement benefits" or face additional legal action." Rowe has already filed in Harford County Circuit Court seeking the payment of underpaid retirement benefits on behalf of himself and other county retirees like him. …

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