Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Salary review commission recommends raising mayoral and city manager pay, proposes phased increases for aldermen
Summary
A citizen salary review commission presented unanimous recommendations to increase compensation for the mayor, aldermen and the city manager, and urged the council to adopt the report’s figures and related administrative changes.
A citizen salary review commission presented its recommendations to the Annapolis City Council on March 10, urging higher compensation for elected officials and the city manager to broaden the pool of qualified candidates.
Faye Curry, a commissioner, told the council the commission met six times, reviewed compensation data from comparable municipalities and concluded current pay levels are “far, far too low.” The group’s report, submitted to the council, recommended the mayor’s direct compensation be set at $120,000 per year while maintaining the existing mayoral benefits package.
The commission also recommended phased increases for aldermen (detailed year-by-year figures are included in the commission’s written report) and proposed that each alderman receive a city-paid cell phone for city business and a $3,000 annual allowance. On the city manager’s pay, the commission recommended an annual salary “not less than $250,000 per year and not greater than $294,000 per year.”
Commission chair Paul Rankin (not present) and members told the council the recommendations were unanimous and that the commission believes current compensation levels may discourage qualified residents—especially those without other paid employment or retirement income—from seeking office.
Stewart Cohen, a commission member, said his informal polling of residents found no one correctly guessed current compensation levels and that respondents thought officials were undercompensated. The commission’s report is in the council packet and the commission asked the council to consider the recommendations as a baseline for updating pay practices.
The commission also urged the council to exclude future city manager salary recommendations from the salary review commission’s remit, arguing the city charter and executive pay plans make the city manager a direct report to the mayor and better handled through the mayor’s executive authority.
Councilmembers did not take immediate action on the recommendations at the March 10 meeting; the report will be available for council deliberation during future budget and charter-related discussions.
