PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

Let me start off by saying… we wish everyone a Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy Kwanzaa. Of course, we can’t forget Happy New Year! I don’t know about you, but I sure pray 2022 will be a lot better than 2020 and 2021. 

Before I go any further, our member and friend, former owner of Heritage Parkville Gardens (where we held our meetings for years), Bob Limmer, is very sick with COPD and in the hospital. After his stint in the hospital, he faces a long rehab. Please keep him in your prayers. Also, BPD Trainee Cody Ruhling, who was injured during police training, had additional surgeries on his brain in September and in October. He also continues to need our prayers.

· About 800 members and widows are in our email system, however, only about 50% open our emails. We are doing a purge of anyone who has not opened an email from us in the last six months. In many instances, we are discovering our emails were marked as Spam, or the member changed his email address and the one we had on file is no longer valid. We do not abuse our email system. You receive only emails pertaining to our members or information vital to our members. After we do our purge, if you no longer receive messages from us, but would like to be included, please let us know. We are only allowed so many free email addresses and then we have to pay, so carrying people who don’t want to get our emails is costly. 

· With regards to the pension lawsuit with Baltimore City: This entire battle started when Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and her financial advisor, Mr. Gallagher, changed our pension in 2010 to under 55 years old – 0% increase, 55-65 years old -1 % increase, and 65+ 2% increase. Fire and Police, active and retired, believed this was wrong and unfair, especially for those who were injured and retired early. The lawsuit was begun with the intention to help the Brothers and Sisters who were injured LOD only. This was never intended to be a cash cow for everyone. 

Yes the lawsuit cost us money, but it also cost the City a lot more (they used an outside attorney). We stood up in solidarity against them for our injured Brothers and Sisters, despite the City thinking we would just back down. For that reason alone, we should be proud. It cost each of us some money, but we won for those who needed it most. Despite my countless hours of meetings, phone calls, emails and mail, I never received a dime either, but I am happy for those that did.

During this timeframe, we also found out that the City was thinking about stopping healthcare of dependent (spouses and children), and then later, us. We fought that, however they also played their games and we ended up having to change our healthcare coverage. The City saved millions by changing. We are working with all city unions to have legislation passed that all retirees will have healthcare. 

· Incidentally, in case you didn’t notice, on October 15, 2021 our pension checks were increased by $10 and change, because the lawsuit is now over.   

Daryl