BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — With four aye's and two nay's, Baltimore County Council Members voted to increase their salaries by more than $50,000, to the disappointment of some residents.
This came as the council moves from seven to nine seats.
Here is how the salary increases line up:
- Council member's salaries will go from $69,000 to $119,750
- The chair's pay will go from $77,000 to almost $129,750
- The county executive's salary will go from $192,000 to $240,000.
The news has not landed well for some residents.
"We have people that are making less than $30,000 a year that are still trying to struggle by and you feel like it's okay to bump yours up to 240, 250, whatever it is? That's uncalled for," said Kyanna Dixon.
Council Chair Mike Ertel told WMAR-2 News that the raise is well below what the county Salary Board recommended at $140,000.
Right before the vote, Councilman Izzy Patoka said the higher salary reflects the amount of work they do.
"Council members spend extraordinary amount of hours in the field attending to a variety of constituent concerns, broad land use authority, review contracts," Patoka said.
Right now the county council is a part time job but that'll move to full time next year.
Still, there are no expectations for members to leave their other places of employment.
Some taxpayers think the council should focus on things rather than lining their own pockets.
"From a budget point of view, I hear our police department doesn't have enough staffing to patrol Towson and we've got a fair amount of crime issues and it's all coming from the same pot, so how does this help Towson," one man asked.
Ertel said it won't result in a tax increase, also going on to say, since 2010 council salaries have only increased by $15,000, once in 2014 and again in 2022.
The incoming council will have new committee work he expects will result in a more efficient county government and savings for taxpayers.
