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Brentwood to ask voters to raise mayor and council pay on May ballot
Summary
The Town of Brentwood read an ordinance at a March 11 public hearing to place a proposal on the May 6, 2025 ballot that would raise the mayor's monthly pay to $750 and council members' monthly pay to $500; the hearing was procedural and the council did not vote on the measure.
At a March 11 public hearing, Town administrator Shelly Dorsey read an ordinance to place a proposed increase in mayoral and council pay before Brentwood voters on the May 6, 2025 ballot.
Dorsey read the ballot question included in ordinance 2025-07: "Are you for or against the increase of the salary for council members from $400 to $500 per month and to increase the mayor's salary from $500 to $750 per month?" She said any approved increase would become effective July 1, 2025 upon verification by the chief election judge that a majority of voters approved the measure.
The ordinance text, read aloud by Dorsey, cites section 302 of the Brentwood Charter and states the increase is being proposed because of "the increasing amount of time and attention required to provide the required oversight and management of town affairs." The ordinance also notes the charter's requirement that such salary changes be approved by a majority of qualified voters and states that salaries specified at the time a council takes office should not be changed for the period for which that council was elected; the ordinance frames the change to apply to succeeding officeholders and places the question on the ballot for voter decision.
Mayor Jose Ramirez Lopez opened the floor for comment; no members of the public or council offered substantive remarks during the hearing. The mayor said the public hearing is procedural and that a second reading and any council action would occur at a subsequent meeting.
No vote on the ordinance occurred during the hearing; the council recorded no final decision on the measure at this session. The ordinance text presented to the council sets the ballot date as May 6, 2025 and the effective date for any approved increase as July 1, 2025.
The public may submit comments to the town using the address provided by the mayor at the resumed meeting: info@BrentwoodMD.gov. The council scheduled a later meeting for the ordinance's second reading and further action.
