Buckley set to introduce salary increase measure for Annapolis elected officials, city manager
Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley is expected to introduce a measure to increase the salaries for the mayor, City Council members and city manager on Monday.
The resolution, R-8-25, would accept recommendations made by a Salary Review Commission made up of six appointed Annapolis residents, as required by the city charter. The commission, established in November, held public meetings over roughly four weeks where salary data from 13 neighboring jurisdictions in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia was examined. The commission also interviewed all eight council members, including the mayor and the city manager about their compensation.
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Monday’s resolution will not automatically increase salaries. City code requires the council to pass measures involving council salaries at least three months before the November election. The increases would also have to be incorporated into the city budget, which is currently in development. If changes to compensation are adopted, they will not impact the current salaries of the sitting council, Buckley, or manager Mike Mallinoff but would start with officials elected in November.
“Our sense was that if you really want to attract the best people to these jobs, particularly the city manager job, then you really need to up your game from a compensation perspective,” said Paul Rankin, chair of the Salary Review Commission.
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The mayor makes $98,000 annually while council members are paid $18,500, plus an expense allowance. Mallinoff was among the three top earners of city employees last fiscal year. Police Chief Edward Jackson was the highest-paid employee, earning $209,485. Mallinoff ranked second at $194,786.
The commission recommended increasing the mayor’s salary to $120,000 and the council members’ to $32,000. The recommended raise for the appointed City Manager position is in the range of $250,000 to $294,000.
While some council members think that an increase is needed, others believe that the money could be better spent.
Several council members, including Rob Savidge, from Ward 7, Ross Arnett, from Ward 8 and Karma O’Neill, from Ward 2 — all Democrats — said the city needs to position itself to attract a larger range of candidates, make running for an elected position more financially feasible — particularly for council members — and have salaries reflect the extensive work hours.
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Harry Huntley, who represents Ward 1 and chairs the Finance Committee, is against raising his own salary, saying that money should go toward hiring support staff and paying for community outreach.
“I think that beyond adjusting for the cost of living, any money that’s going to go to the City Council members … would be better spent on staff for the City Council, because I think that will allow us to be more responsive to constituents and better improve the quality of city services,” he said.
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