New law would prevent a retiring Baltimore County councilman from doubling his pension

The Baltimore County Council unanimously passed an emergency law Monday night to backdate their repeal of a pension provision that could have led to the doubling of one retired councilman’s salary.

The council hopes the move will stop Wade Kach from collecting pension payments he didn’t earn while serving as a council member representing the northern part of the county for 14 years. Kach, 78, retired from his position effective May 7.

The measure passed swiftly and without discussion, a sign that council members were eager to move past an issue that has drawn sharp criticism and loomed large over an election year.

The council passed a law, introduced by Kach, in November 2024 that tied current council members’ retirements to future salaries. While the council members earn $69,000 as part-time legislators, a different law passed the same day deemed that they should be paid full-time. The salary for that is not set yet, but a county board recommended that it start at $150,000, which is in line with Montgomery and Prince George’s council salaries.

Such a bump would mean the pensions could double for eligible members — Kach among them.

Facing a backlash, the body unanimously repealed the pension legislation on March 16 but allowed the law to take effect in 45 days.

Kach’s effective retirement date fell within the 45 days, creating a possible loophole for him to still collect a larger pension. The council’s 6-0 vote Monday backdated the repeal to 14 days, which eliminated the loophole.

Kach has never publicly confirmed that he moved up his retirement in hopes of taking advantage of the pension loophole. He has not returned several calls and texts seeking comment, and has been absent from the council chamber for much of this year with health issues.

In previous interviews, Kach told The Banner that he never expected the council salaries to rise so much and was trying to set pension levels in line with what the Maryland General Assembly does.

“As I said before, I never thought the Council salary would go up beyond the increases granted in the past,” Kach said last month. He noted that when he thought his salary increase was too high in the past, he gave the difference to charity.

Regardless of Kach’s intentions, council members have had to defend their vote to increase their pensions, keeping the issue in the spotlight with weeks remaining before the June 23 primary election.

At nearly every stop on the campaign trail, Nick Stewart, a business attorney and former school board member who is also running for the top job, says council members tried to double their pensions and only stopped when they “got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.”

Democratic Councilmen Pat Young, Izzy Patoka and Julian Jones are all running for county executive, and they all voted for the Kach pension bump. Republican David Marks, who is running again for council, did as well.

The only two council members who did not vote for the increase were Republican Todd Crandell, who was absent, and Democrat Mike Ertel.

Ertel, of Towson, has repeatedly said the vote didn’t sit right with him in 2024. Since then, his concerns have been amplified.

The legislation also didn’t sit right with then-County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., who said that’s why he allowed the bill to become law without his signature.

Tying pensions to future salaries is unorthodox, said John Hohman, a retired county fire chief and union official familiar with pension negotiations.

“Nobody can ever do that,” he said. “Nobody does that.”

At the time of the pension vote, Ertel said, the council was focused on expanding from seven members to nine — a move that had been discussed for decades. It was also focused on making the council positions full-time.

“We’re supposed to be the fiscal watchdog, and I feel like half the time, I’m flying by the seat of my pants and I’m supposed to be the watchdog and I don’t have all the information I need,” he said.

Kach’s replacement on the council, former state Del. Nino Mangione, said he would have never voted for such an increase, and his new colleagues shouldn’t have done so, either. Mangione is a conservative Republican who has promised to bring fiscal responsibility to the council.

The District 3 Republican Central Committee nominated him for the position on Saturday. Mangione resigned his delegate seat Monday; he was sworn in after the pension vote.

“I knew what the position paid when I signed up. We all did,” he said. “They made that vote. They shouldn’t have.”