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Annapolis council adopts charter amendment creating two departments; debate centers on city manager pay authority
Summary
On Feb. 24 the Annapolis City Council adopted Charter Amendment CA 2-24, elevating two offices to department status; council debate focused on whether the charter should continue to link city manager pay to the compensation commission or defer pay-setting to the executive pay scale and mayoral negotiation.
The Annapolis City Council voted to adopt Charter Amendment CA 2-24 on Feb. 24, moving a package of departmental reorganizations into the charter that elevates two offices to department-level status.
Council members debated amendments for more than two hours before a roll-call vote on second and then third reader. Much of the debate centered on whether the charter should continue to direct city-manager compensation via the city’s compensation commission or change practice so the city manager’s pay would be set under the same executive pay-scale process used for department directors. Alderman Ottoman Savage moved an amendment to remove the city manager from the compensation commission’s formula and make the manager’s pay follow the executive pay scale; proponents said it aligns with professional practice for ICMA-style city managers and reduces an atypical charter provision. Opponents said the commission and mayoral negotiation are established and professional, and argued the amendment raised larger governance questions better handled in a separate measure.
City Manager Michael Malinoff told the council he was largely agnostic about the technical mechanics of pay-setting but supported relying on class-and-compensation studies and validated salary information rather than an arbitrary outside committee. Alderman Autumn Finlayson and others urged caution given concurrent proposals to change executive pay ranges and job classifications, which staff and committees were still reviewing.
After extended debate, the council voted on postponement and reconsideration motions and ultimately advanced CA 2-24. The transcript records that CA 2-24 passed on third reader; the council directed staff to continue work on related ordinances and pay-rule language as separate items. Several council members said they want a work session to align the charter amendment, the executive pay rules and classification changes before additional implementing ordinances are finalized.
Why it matters: the charter-level change formally creates departments and alters the city’s organizational structure. The pay-setting discussion and related pending ordinances could affect salary ranges and hiring for senior management positions and will influence how future managers’ compensation is negotiated.
What’s next: councilmembers and staff said related ordinances and resolutions (including executive pay ranges and exempt classification changes) will return for committee review and separate votes. Multiple council members urged a dedicated work session to resolve the interrelated policy and budget questions before final program implementation.
Ending: The charter amendment itself moves forward; lawmakers and staff must still reconcile pay rules and classification changes in follow-up legislation and committee work.
