Annapolis (August 13, 2007)- County Executive John R. Leopold announced today that the County Council will have a work session tomorrow on the legislation that eliminates the pension income earnings cap for public safety workers in the county. "I believe it is an important priority to provide this benefit to our public safety personnel who put their lives on the line for all of us every day," said County Executive Leopold. "As a member of the General Assembly, I sponsored legislation, which was enacted, that eliminated the disability offset for state police officers. I pledged during my campaign that I would provide this benefit to County public safety officials, and I am pleased to fulfill this commitment." "The fiscal impact of this legislation is minimal with an estimated annual cost of approximately $86,000," the County Executive added. Bill number 58-07, which was introduced by Council Chairman Ron Dillon on behalf of County Executive Leopold on July 16, 2007, makes two changes to current pension law. First, the legislation seeks to eliminate the earnings cap in the Fire, Police, Detention, and Deputy Sheriffs personnel who retired through a disability pension. Therefore, it removes the penalty for retirees who seek re-employment in another capacity at an income level greater than the maximum amount that an employee could have earned if still actively employed by the County. Second, the proposed bill reduces the employee contribution for members of the Police Officer bargaining group below the rank of sergeant from 6 percent to 5 percent. The public hearing for the bill will be on Monday, August 20, 2007 during the regularly scheduled County Council meeting. | 
