Wicomico County council approves public works director pay increase after debate over pay scale and PE requirement

Wicomico County Council voted 4–2 on March 18 to approve Resolution 39-2025, which amends the county’s fiscal year 2025 position-control document to increase the salary range for the public works director position and confirm the hire of a new director.

The vote followed an extended discussion among council members that centered on moving the new appointee to the top of the pay range immediately, whether the council should temporarily reduce the starting salary for a probationary period, and whether the job’s Professional Engineer (PE) requirement should be dropped to broaden the candidate pool.

The council’s action matters because it sets the starting pay for a long-vacant senior county role and establishes how the incoming director will be treated when the next budget and any across-the-board raises are implemented.

County administration had recommended placing the incoming director at the top of the pay range. Bunkie Luffman, director of administration, told the council that he could not guarantee the candidate would accept a lower…