Compensation panel hears briefings on council duties, calendar and peer pay

Prince George's County’s Compensation Review Commission on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, heard three briefings intended to inform its review of elected-official pay: an overview of the at-large County Council member role from Council member Calvin Hawkins; a summary of the county executive’s duties from Jatanna Stewart Ponder, acting director of the Office of Human Resources Management; and an explanation of the council’s long-range calendar from Donna Brown, Clerk of the Council. The commission approved its May minutes by roll call vote and asked staff for additional workload and fiscal scenarios to guide compensation deliberations.

The panel’s work matters because the commission sets compensation changes that, under the Constitution of Maryland, cannot be applied to an incumbent during a term. Commissioners said they want concrete data — including comparative workload and multi-year budget scenarios — before recommending any adjustments to salaries or office budgets.

Council member Calvin Hawkins described the responsibilities of an at-large member as broader than those of single-member districts. “We have responsibility for all 499 square miles” of the county, Hawkins said, and noted the at-large role requires intervening across districts and in countywide planning and appointments. He also gave a rough figure for office oversight: “we oversee a budget … right now, and it's about $380,000, $381,000 to round it off,” attributing that figure to the typical office budget handled by council members.

Jatanna Stewart Ponder summarized the county executive’s duties, saying the executive “is the chief law enforcement officer of the county” and is responsible for setting strategic direction for executive departments, directing implementation of the county budget, preparing and submitting the annual budget, appointing department heads and board members, and issuing executive orders and administrative procedures.

Donna Brown told commissioners that the council’s long-range calendar — approved each January — lays out required meetings, standing-committee schedules and key legislative deadlines. Brown said the council typically considers roughly 100 bills a year, often more in the second half of the year because of budget work. “September is when council gets really busy,” Brown said, explaining that material introduced or prepared in the summer is often compressed into a short legislative window in September through November, and that the body recesses in August and December in accordance with the charter.

A staff presentation compared Prince George’s County pay for elected officials with peer jurisdictions, including Anne Arundel County, Baltimore City, the District of Columbia, Howard County and Montgomery County. The presenter, identified in the meeting as Miss Pugh, said Prince George’s County’s elected-official compensation and the county executive’s pay were lower than many peers despite the county’s median income and responsibilities. Commissioners discussed differences in whether jurisdictions allow officials to maintain outside employment and whether the council chair is elected countywide or chosen by the council.

Commissioners asked for additional data before making compensation recommendations. Topics they requested included: counts of constituent contacts and casework that distinguish at-large and single-member-district workloads; historical office budgets and the effect of chair-determined budget increases; and multi-year fiscal scenarios showing costs under different adjustment rules (for example, CPI-based increases or capped percentage changes). The commission also asked staff to prepare example pay-change charts to show the budgetary impact over a four-year term and to bring the at-large-specific workload data that one commissioner requested.

The commission recorded one formal action at the meeting: approval of the May minutes by roll call, 4-0. Chair Axum, Ms. Hall, Mr. Horn and Ms. Lawler voted aye; Mr. Simpson was noted as en route and not counted in the roll call. The commission noted a tentative next meeting date of July 2, 2025, and said staff would provide options for in-person or virtual format. Commissioners signaled they expect to revisit compensation scenarios with the requested data and to consider long-term budget implications before making any recommendation.

Commissioners and presenters repeatedly emphasized workload and timing as central to the compensation discussion: the county’s 499-square-mile geography, nine single-member districts plus two at-large seats, committee schedules (members typically serve on three standing committees meeting biweekly), and the concentration of legislative work in the budget season (March–June) and the September–November legislative push.

No other formal votes or ordinance actions were taken at the June 18 meeting. The commission closed after confirming next steps for data collection and scheduling.