SALISBURY, Md. — Salisbury’s mayor is at the center of a growing debate over the future of the city’s union agreement after he raised concerns about rising wage obligations and stagnant revenue in a letter to taxpayers.
Mayor Randy Taylor said in the two-page letter that dissolving the city’s union is a necessary step to maintain financial stability.
In the letter, Taylor said previous administrations agreed to wage increases for union employees, including police officers and firefighters, and the city must now meet those obligations.
Taylor said in the letter that city revenue has not kept pace with those costs. He said the city is projected to draw more than $3 million from its savings to cover costs.
“Dissolving the union is not a political decision, nor is it an emotional one,” Taylor wrote in the letter. “It is a decision grounded in math, law and the obligation to keep Salisbury on stable financial footing.”
Union leaders strongly disagree, according to the Wicomico County Fraternal Order of Police.
Scott Hamilton, president of the local FOP chapter, said ending collective bargaining would hurt recruitment and retention for public safety workers.
Hamilton said the loss of collective bargaining would remove a key process for employees to negotiate pay and working conditions.
“The biggest threat to the loss of collective bargaining is to no longer be engaged with the process on how their negotiations are completed,” Hamilton said. “If they lose that option, they can’t advocate for themselves for competitive starting salaries.”
Hamilton said financial challenges should not lead to eliminating the negotiation process altogether.
“That doesn’t mean we should just shut the process down,” Hamilton said. “The whole purpose of this is to negotiate.”
Taylor declined an interview request from WBOC and said his letter speaks for itself.
The current union agreement is set to expire in July. A resolution to end the agreement early is on Monday night’s City Council agenda, according to the agenda, where a large public turnout is expected.