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CBS News
3 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Costly Baltimore City job vacancies addressed during budget negotiations
Baltimore City leaders are figuring out ways to address hundreds of vacant jobs that are costing the city millions of dollars. Those unfilled positions are a concern as council members work to approve the Fiscal Year 2026. "We have several hundred vacancies in the city of Baltimore," said Faith Leach, the Baltimore City administrator. Leach told WJZ the city is aiming to reduce the number of vacant jobs, and it starts with competitive wages. "We know wages are a big part," Leach said. "It's just one part of what we can do to recruit new people into our fire and police department, as well as the city department." Exceeding overtime budgets WJZ previously reported that Baltimore City has paid millions of dollars in overtime costs, with some agencies outspending their budgets. "That ultimately winds up to about $33 million that is going to go into overtime within these city budgets," Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen recently told WJZ. City leaders said there are more than 2,700 vacant positions, and 530 of those positions have gone unfilled for at least 18 months. The city is still down 20% when it comes to job vacancies compared to 2024. "As long as there's a vacant position in the city, there's an opportunity for someone to be hired," said Baltimore councilmember Jermaine Jones. City Administrator Leach said hundreds of the vacancies are within the police, fire, and EMS departments. And, oftentimes, those departments rely on overtime pay to get by with officers and first responders working extra shifts. "As people work longer hours, the quality of work goes down, so I think this isn't a sustainable approach as we continue to fill those vacant positions with overtime hours," councilmember Jones said. Impact on the police department's shortage City Council President Cohen told WJZ during a recent hearing that one option, dissolving vacant city jobs, could put more pressure on the already short-staffed police department. The police department remains under a consent decree following the in-custody death of Freddie Gray. One of the mandates is to hire more officers. "But there are certainly other agencies, including the fire department, where we're not under a consent decree, where I certainly think there could just be a more honest accounting of what's going on within the agency," Cohen said. City agency needs Cohen said this budget season allows the city council to see what each city agency needs. "Making sure that we have enabled each city agency to fulfill their mission to do what they need to do to provide great services for the residents of this city but that they are being honest about their needs and that they're not coming back six months, a year, two years later and asking the council to approve supplemental budgets that they've already spent," Cohen said.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
How much are the vacant city jobs costing Baltimore? City leaders discuss the consequences.
Hundreds of vacant Baltimore City jobs are coming at a cost, city leaders said during a hearing on Thursday. The Baltimore City Council addressed the more than 2,700 vacant positions in the city and the related costs and consequences of those jobs being unfilled over a long period of time. Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen said 530 of those positions have gone unfilled for over the past 18 months. "That ultimately winds up to about $33 million that is going to go into overtime within these city budgets," Cohen said. Over-budget on overtime pay Some Baltimore City agencies have outspent their budgets over the last couple of years to pay for overtime. "Using these unfilled positions that the city has allocated for," Cohen said. Cohen said that agencies even asked the city council to pass a supplemental budget. "Which retroactively grants the agency the ability to spend this money after they've already spent the money," he said. Recruiting and retaining employees Cohen said Thursday's hearing hopes to end that practice and bring transparency to taxpayers. "Look, let's just be honest about the amount of overtime spending that these agencies need," Cohen said. It also means having a conversation around recruiting and retaining city employees. Thursday's conversation even led to a discussion about dissolving some vacant positions that haven't been filled in months. Impact on the police department's consent decree Cohen said that dissolving vacant jobs could pose a challenge for the police department under a consent decree mandating the agency hire more officers. "But there are certainly other agencies, including the fire department, where we're not under a consent decree, where I certainly think there could just be a more honest accounting of what's going on within the agency," Cohen said. Finding out what city agencies need Cohen said this sets up the stage for budget season beginning next week. He said it will allow the city council to see what each city agency truly needs. "Making sure that we have enabled each city agency to fulfill their mission to do what they need to do to provide great services for the residents of this city but that they are being honest about their needs and that they're not coming back six months, a year, two years later and asking the council to approve supplemental budgets that they've already spent," Cohen said.
CBS News
12-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen calls for transparency in BGE multi-year rate hike case
Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen is calling for transparency after the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) said it expects to have a decision on Baltimore Gas and Electric's proposed multi-year rate hikes for 2026 by the end of June. Last week, BGE's parent company told their investors they expect a decision in an important case before the PSC about multi-year rate hikes by the end of June. That information isn't public. I'm calling on the PSC to either correct the record or investigate how BGE's parent… — Zeke Cohen (@Zeke_Cohen) May 9, 2025 The Maryland Public Service Commission approved BGE's multi-year delivery rate hikes in 2023, which authorizes a total increase of just under $408 million over three years, covering both gas and electric services. How much has the cost of energy gone up? In 2023, the PSC said its planned rate hikes for 2024 would result in the average residential electric bill being increased by about $4.08 per month, and the average gas bill by $10.43 per month. On January 1, 2025, BGE implemented a rate hike which was expected to increase the average gas bill by 9% and the electric bill by 7%. But this past winter, customers reported much more drastic spikes. Why the cost spike? By February 2025, customers reported seeing energy cost increases of more than $200. BGE attributed the dramatic increases to higher energy usage during a cold winter and a 30% year-over-year spike in the price of natural gas. Both cold winters and hot summers, along with infrastructural upgrades, can lead to energy rate hikes, according to the Maryland Office of People's Counsel. How have city leaders responded? Baltimore City Council has been vocal in its opposition, passing a resolution urging the PSC to halt BGE's planned 2026 rate hikes and arguing that infrastructure upgrades should not be funded solely by ratepayers. In April, state lawmakers passed the Next Generation Energy Act, which aims to reduce energy costs by requiring gas pipeline spending to prioritize safety and cost-effectiveness, directing the Public Service Commission to reject multi-year rate hikes that don't demonstrate customer benefit, and prohibiting utilities from charging ratepayers for certain expenses like trade association memberships and private planes.
CBS News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Pay increases, worker safety top issues for Baltimore DPW workers after two deaths on the job
Several members of the Baltimore City Council and union leaders remembered two workers who died on the job in 2024 and vowed to improve safety and increase wages. Baltimore sanitation workers have long complained of low pay and unsafe working conditions. "We've had huge challenges with worker safety at DPW. We know that we've had workers die at DPW. We've had over 1,600 injuries in five years in the sanitation department at DPW," Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen said. DPW workers voice union concerns Conditions became so bad, some workers did not even have access to toilet paper or proper bathroom facilities. ore CBS News Baltimore The unions have come under fire from some workers who claimed they were out of touch. Several who spoke to the inspector general criticized AFSCME, saying their "presence has been non-existent, and the union has not advocated for the workers in the last few years. One worker opined that Local 44 is absent until something drastic happens, like when a worker dies…" "They're lying to you all. We are tired of them. That's why we're here," said Stancil McNair, at a heated city council legislative oversight hearing on March 20. "More of us came to this hearing than we do to a union meeting. That's sad. And they're still playing games. Still playing games." WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren asked the unions about these concerns. "Our goal is to protect all of you," said Antoinette Ryan-Johnson, President of City Union of Baltimore, which represents DPW supervisors. "If that means that I need to take the bow, I will do so, but we need you to be our eyes and ears." Two DPW deaths raise alarm After the deaths of Baltimore DPW employees Ronald Silver II and Timothy Cartwell in 2024, union leaders said Monday they will follow through on their promises to keep workers safe. "Today, we mourn the dead, but mourning is not enough. We fight for the living—for every worker who has been ever told to suck it up instead of speak up," said Courtney Jenkins, the president of the Metropolitan Baltimore Council of AFL-CIO unions. The city has not provided substantive updates in months on the death of Cartwell. He was crushed by a trash truck. Silver died after repeatedly begging for help in the extreme heat. "He was not replaceable," Faith Johnson, Silver's mother, said last month, her voice breaking. "He was not replaceable to us. I'm still trying to figure out how life looks without him." New safeguards are already in place statewide. The city is also implementing new heat standards. "This summer, Maryland will be only one of six states in the country that offers these protections" said Scott Schneider, the former director of occupational safety for the Laborers International Union. "It came too late for Ronald Silver, but we hope that as we remember him today on Workers' Memorial Day, his death helped prevent others from having to suffer or die of heat exposures." Fighting for pay raises Right now, union leaders and the city are negotiating pay raises. The average sanitation worker earns just 15 cents an hour in hazard pay and a little more than $42,000 annually, which many said is not enough to feed their families. Right now, union leaders and the city are negotiating pay raises. CBS News Baltimore "It is the expectation of this city council that those workers will get a raise, and it will be a meaningful raise," Cohen said. Last week, the city council president joined sanitation workers on the job. Several members of the Baltimore City Council and union leaders remembered two workers who died on the job in 2024 and vowed to improve safety and increase wages. CBS News Baltimore "It is hard work. It is backbreaking work, and they deserve more," Cohen said. The negotiations are private, and union leaders declined to comment on specific progress Monday, but Cohen noted the DPW director has committed to providing a pay increase. Just weeks ago, Baltimore City signed new contracts with top leaders, with several earning more than $250,000 a year.
CBS News
07-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Maryland lawmakers pass bill that aims to lower utility costs
Maryland lawmakers have passed a bill aimed at reducing utility costs statewide. The Next Generation Energy Act, passed the Senate, 36-10 on the final day of the legislative session. The bill now heads to Governor Wes Moore's desk for his signature. The bill requires gas pipeline spending to prioritize safety and cost-effectiveness, directs the Public Service Commission to reject multi-year rate hikes that don't demonstrate customer benefit, and prohibits utilities from charging ratepayers for certain expenses like trade association memberships and private planes. Key provisions include requiring public service companies to demonstrate the reasonableness of using internal versus contractual labor and protect residential customers from financial risks associated with large load customers connecting to the electric system. The bill authorizes multiyear rate plans under certain circumstances, while mandating that investor-owned electric companies submit plans for energy storage devices that could help stabilize the grid and potentially lower costs. It also requires electric companies to procure zero-emission credits, promoting cleaner energy sources. For gas companies, the legislation allows for cost recovery for eligible infrastructure replacement projects while ensuring that necessary upgrades don't lead to excessive rate increases. Maryland residents and leaders alike have publicly challenged BGE's energy rate hikes. In December 2023, the Maryland Public Service Commission approved a multi-year rate increase plan , authorizing BGE to implement nearly $408 million in rate increases over three years with average year-one bill increases of $4.08. In January 2025, BGE increased gas bills by 9% and electric bills by 7%. However, some BGE customers said they saw extreme price increases, particularly during the winter months. In February, the Baltimore City Council passed a resolution calling on state regulators to stop BGE's planned 2026 utility rate hikes. Last month, City Council President Zeke Cohen led the community walk, going door to door to collect signatures on a petition that calls for the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) to stop BGE's planned 2026 utility rate hikes .
