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Council narrows proposed executive pay ranges after extended debate over equity and competitiveness
Summary
The Annapolis City Council voted to adopt changes to executive pay ranges (R53-24) on March 24 after lengthy debate about competitiveness with neighboring jurisdictions, impacts on current employees and the need for sub-bands for different department sizes.
After more than an hour of debate on March 24, the Annapolis City Council adopted resolution R53-24 with an amendment that reduced the proposed top and bottom levels for two executive pay bands.
Council members said they were split between two aims: ensuring the city remains competitive to recruit senior managers and limiting long-term payroll growth. Alderman Onet (moved amendment number 1) offered the change that reduced both the bottom and top of the E O4 and E O5 bands; supporters described the amendment as a conservative adjustment while opponents said it risked undercutting competitiveness for high-skill candidates.
Several aldermen argued for separating department heads into different sub-bands rather than keeping all directors on the same E O5 band. Alderman Savage and others cited comparative data showing neighboring counties’ top-of-range salaries frequently exceed Annapolis’ proposed top, and urged either keeping the original range or reorganizing the bands into multiple sub-levels. Alderman Huntley and others said short-term budget timing made splitting the band difficult before the forthcoming budget deadline.
City Manager Michael Malinoff told the council the amended range would allow the administration to move the item forward into budget discussions and then follow up with HR on a more finely grained structure later. Malinoff also said the amendment would not affect current employees’ existing pay immediately and that the police chief’s current salary would remain under the amended cap for at least another year.
On balance, the council voted to adopt R53-24 as amended; the meeting record shows the amendment passed and the resolution was adopted on second reader.
Council members asked staff to return after the budget process with options for subclassifying executive pay bands and with analysis of impacts on current employees and cost projections for future budgets.
Quotes in this article come from the council floor debate and remarks by City Manager Michael Malinoff recorded during the March 24 meeting.
