Former Baltimore County Councilman Wade Kach resigned from the council just in time to cash in on a pension deal that The Baltimore County Council had recently scrapped.
The council Tuesday put in motion emergency legislation to keep Kach from collecting.
Councilman Chairman Mike Ertel said, “People have pointed that out like, hey there’s a loophole here and we wanted to be very clear that we’re acting immediately on it, like ok, you’re right there is a loophole but we’re going to close that loophole.”
A spokeswoman for Kach declined to comment.
Kach, 78, submitted his resignation last week, effective May 7 at 11:59 pm. He said he was doing so for health reasons. Kach has been dealing with health issues for years and had decided not to run for reelection this year.
In 2024, Kach proposed legislation to tie council pensions to future salaries of council members. The legislation passed. Then in March, the council unanimously repealed that legislation. It had come under withering criticism for what critics said was the members giving themselves a golden parachute since future council salaries are expected to increase.
However, the repeal did not take effect for 45 days, which Ertel said was Monday, days after Kach resigned. So theoretically, Kach could benefit from the old law which would allow him to collect a pension based on future council salaries.
Ertel said, “He may not have realized that, he may have, either way we’re taking away that possibility that you could have a pension increase every time there’s a salary increase.”
Ertel said they believe they can legally go back and change the date the pension repeal legislation took effect. Under the emergency legislation it would be in 14 days, well before Kach resigned.
“We’re fairly sure it’s legal,” Ertel said. “That doesn’t mean that it won’t be legally challenged.”
Ertel said he has not spoken to Kach about the pension issue.
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