The salaries for Montgomery County’s two top elected law enforcement positions are too low and need nearly 15 percent increases, according to a citizens committee tasked with recommending compensation levels.
The committee said the sheriff should make $154,000 starting next year after current Sheriff Raymond Kight retires. Kight’s salary is $135,298 a year, about $400 less than what his top deputy makes.
And the state’s attorney should make $199,000 during the next term, which starts Jan. 1, 2011. That would be nearly a 15 percent increase over the $173,181 salary of current State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
The 10 highest-paid employees in Montgomery County:
Chief administrative officer: $266,266
Police chief: $216,603
Director of Corrections and Rehabilitation: $210,621
Director of Health and Human Services: $206,492
County attorney: $206,492
Director of County Council staff: $205,695
Director of Housing and Community Affairs: $201,058
Director of Finance: $195,624
Director of Human Resources: $194,537
Director of Management and Budget: $194,537
Source: Montgomery County report, as of March 2009
But the salaries of County Council members and County Executive Ike Leggett should be frozen for the next two to three years, the committee recommended. If they are re-elected in 2010, council members would receive a 5 percent increase starting in 2011 and another 5 percent raise in 2012. Leggett, should he win a second term, would receive a 3 percent raise in 2012.
Council members shouldn’t receive a raise for the next two years because of the county’s “current economic climate,” the panel said. The county is facing a $370 million budget deficit during the next fiscal year and may have to freeze employee pay to help bridge the gap.
Leggett’s current salary of $171,000 is “within a reasonable range” compared with similar positions in other counties, the committee said. Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson makes $165,243. Within the county, Leggett’s salary lags 23 other employees.
By law, Maryland’s elected officials can’t receive a pay raise or cut during their terms. The volunteer citizens committee, made up of three Democrats, one Republican and one independent, makes recommendations for the next term’s pay.
The County Council typically approves the recommendations without changes, according to county staff.
The committee said both the sheriff and the state’s attorney positions are “dramatically underpaid” compared with similar positions both in the county and in nearby jurisdictions. Both the county attorney and chief of police make more than $200,000 a year.
The committee also noted that the workload for the sheriff and the state’s attorney had grown in recent years due to a number of factors, including the rise of gang violence.
