Why? That is the big question to ask Gov.-elect Martin O?Malley about the 58 percent raise he gave City State?s Attorney Patricia Jessamy as one of his last mayoral misfeasances.
For someone who claimed to demand results-oriented city services and policing, his move makes no sense. How many more lives will be saved with $83,000? Where is the cost benefit analysis for city taxpayers?
He justified his support for the pay hike to $225,000 by saying the position is a “very, very tough job.”
But his soon-to-be job as commander in chief of Maryland is even tougher ? and he will earn $150,000. Is he suggesting every elected official deserves more money?
According to Department of Justice statistics, the median salary of chief prosecutors for cities with a population from 250,000 to 999,000, the range in which Baltimore falls, is $125,000. With Baltimore being one of the most violent cities in the nation, Jessamy may face bigger challenges than some of her peers, but almost twicebigger? No.
As for the big bucks allegedly required to hire a good lawyer in Baltimore, consider that the base salary range, according to salary.com, is only $61,273 to $190,519. That puts the salary O?Malley proposes $35,000 a year above the highest end of the scale here. Off the charts.
Besides, if he is so concerned about supposed pay equity, why didn?t he push for a bigger raise years ago?
Better yet, why didn?t O?Malley spend the money on a counselor for himself and Jessamy to improve their relationship during his tenure?
The two openly sparred over how best to fight crime in the city ? with him cursing her publicly at one point over a case she dropped.
O?Malley trying to make city employees accountable to taxpayers through CitiStat showed an effort to govern well by cutting waste and fraud.
Since he will soon be one of three members of the Board of Public Works, which votes on state contracts, he must recommit himself to those principles.
The state?s taxpayers deserve to know our dollars will be used in the most effective way possible. Instead, this baffling salary beneficence just causes us to ask: What?s really going on here?
