Making Money

The police and fire unions voted in favor of County Exec Ken Ulman's proposed pay packages that would hike salaries 5 percent and 6 percent respectively a year. The unions say such raises help make county salaries more competitive with those in other jurisdictions, according to this Sun article. Teachers are set to receive 5 percent raises (not counting annual "step" increases for longevity). Nonunion county employees are scheduled to receive just 3 percent, if the increases are approved by the County Council this week, and some are not happy.

The police would get those 5 percent raises for the next two years, and they also negotiated to let some officers take their cars home even if they don't live in the county. Firefighters locked in 6 percent raises for the next four years.

The Sun characterizes the proposals as generous. Here's some food for thought: The Richmond Fed (which covers Maryland) reported that personal income for all of us rose 3.1 percent in 2006. The consumer price index for the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area (which covers Maryland, DC, Virginia and West Virginia) increased by about 3.6 percent in 2006 over 2005.