Local
MoCo, P.G. elected officials out-earn Md. counterparts
By: Kathleen Miller
Examiner Staff Writer
December 31, 2008
Elected officials in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties were the highest paid in Maryland last year, according to the Maryland Association of Counties’ first-ever salary survey.
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett’s $167,000 salary last year tops the list for county executives, but Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson was right behind him, bringing home $165,644 a year. Both made almost double Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt’s $85,000 a year.
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith were neck and neck with annual salaries of $151,263 and $150,000 respectively, and Baltimore City Mayor Sheila Dixon took home $148,000 this year.
Patrick Lacefield, spokesman for Montgomery’s Leggett, said the high salaries for Montgomery officials make sense.
“We’re the state’s largest political jurisdiction,” Lacefield said of Montgomery’s population of nearly 1 million residents. “I believe we also have the largest budget — $4.3 billion this year — of any jurisdiction in the state, and of course the cost of living here is higher than in many other parts of the state.”
The state’s Department of Business and Economic Development lists median household income in Montgomery County as $90,550 a year in its most recent estimate, more than any other Maryland county, and nearly double that of Eastern Shore’s Wicomico with $47,300.
Montgomery and Prince George’s county council members also bring home more bacon than their counterparts across Maryland.
As of Dec. 2, the annual salary for the Montgomery County council president hit $103, 444 and council members began bringing home $94,040. Baltimore City’s council president took in $98,000 last year and Prince George’s council president earned $97,026, according to the survey. Council members in Prince George’s County took home $92,026.
Phil Andrews, Montgomery County’s new council president, said Montgomery leaders are managing a county “with a larger population than a number of states, including Delaware, and a sizable budget that requires a lot of attention.”
“I’ve averaged at least 60 to 70 hours a week since I joined the council in ’98,” Andrews said. “One could spend 40 hours reacting to what comes across your desk alone but it’s important to spend time proactively, not just reactively. Issues like the smoking ban in restaurants and living wage laws here each took several years of work to get through.”
Marv Weinman, head of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League, said he’s not overly concerned about salaries for Montgomery elected officials.
“They work really hard, they attend a lot of evening public hearings and so on,” Weinman said. “It is a mixed bag, there are good ones that are worth it and some that aren’t. It really depends on the person.”
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett’s $167,000 salary last year tops the list for county executives, but Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson was right behind him, bringing home $165,644 a year. Both made almost double Wicomico County Executive Rick Pollitt’s $85,000 a year.
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith were neck and neck with annual salaries of $151,263 and $150,000 respectively, and Baltimore City Mayor Sheila Dixon took home $148,000 this year.
Patrick Lacefield, spokesman for Montgomery’s Leggett, said the high salaries for Montgomery officials make sense.
“We’re the state’s largest political jurisdiction,” Lacefield said of Montgomery’s population of nearly 1 million residents. “I believe we also have the largest budget — $4.3 billion this year — of any jurisdiction in the state, and of course the cost of living here is higher than in many other parts of the state.”
The state’s Department of Business and Economic Development lists median household income in Montgomery County as $90,550 a year in its most recent estimate, more than any other Maryland county, and nearly double that of Eastern Shore’s Wicomico with $47,300.
Montgomery and Prince George’s county council members also bring home more bacon than their counterparts across Maryland.
As of Dec. 2, the annual salary for the Montgomery County council president hit $103, 444 and council members began bringing home $94,040. Baltimore City’s council president took in $98,000 last year and Prince George’s council president earned $97,026, according to the survey. Council members in Prince George’s County took home $92,026.
Phil Andrews, Montgomery County’s new council president, said Montgomery leaders are managing a county “with a larger population than a number of states, including Delaware, and a sizable budget that requires a lot of attention.”
“I’ve averaged at least 60 to 70 hours a week since I joined the council in ’98,” Andrews said. “One could spend 40 hours reacting to what comes across your desk alone but it’s important to spend time proactively, not just reactively. Issues like the smoking ban in restaurants and living wage laws here each took several years of work to get through.”
Marv Weinman, head of the Montgomery County Taxpayers League, said he’s not overly concerned about salaries for Montgomery elected officials.
“They work really hard, they attend a lot of evening public hearings and so on,” Weinman said. “It is a mixed bag, there are good ones that are worth it and some that aren’t. It really depends on the person.”
More from Kathleen Miller
- MoCo police will review handling of assistant fire chief’s crash
- Atheists get day in court over effort to ban God from inauguration ceremony
- Leggett wants new Rockville jail, council chief calls too pricey
- Opposing groups probe immigration policies in Md.
- Md.’s River Road reopens after water main break
