FY 2001 Compensation Survey of Maryland Local Governments

Compensation Survey of Maryland Local Governments

http://www.scribd.com/doc/102709596/FY-2001-Compensation-Survey-of-Maryland-Local-Governments

FY 2001

Compiled by:

Jeanne E. Bilanin

Clare Capotosto

and

Jeffrey R. Kummer

A Collaborative Project

of

Maryland Association of Counties

Maryland Municipal League

and Institute for Governmental Service

Center for Applied Policy Studies University of Maryland, College Park

January 2001

Originally received December 14, 2002

Retrieved August 12, 2012 from archives for records review, retention or disposition – otherwise known as Fighting the “Stuff Monster,” Kevin E. Dayhoff June 20, 2012 The Tentacle http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=41 - - The mindless meanderings of a mad writer. http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2012/08/kevin-dayhoff-tentacle-fighting-stuff.html

It is interesting to see how compensation for local government workers has changed in the past ten years.

Sadly, while much of the public’s attention has been distracted by perceived excesses in compensation and job security among state and federal workers – and in some situations, workers higher-up on local county and municipal government pay scales; the workers at the bottom of the pay scale have not seen any increases for as much as five-years.

…

From the preface of the survey:

Preface

The Institute for Governmental Service (IGS) of the University of Maryland, College Park, in collaboration with the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) and the Maryland Municipal League (MML), is pleased to present this report of the fiscal year 2001 Compensation Survey of Maryland Local Governments, the latest of a series of wage surveys that IGS began in the 1980s. One hundred thirty jurisdictions, including 107 municipalities and all 23 counties, participated in the survey and contributed to the data for more than 150 different positions. This report also includes information regarding the benefits offered by these participating jurisdictions during the 2001 fiscal year. In addition, compensation information for a number of positions was provided by the administrative office of the courts, boards of education, and public library systems.

In this report, Baltimore City is treated as both a county and a municipality. For positions that are unique to counties, Baltimore City is listed as a county. For positions that are unique to municipalities, Baltimore City is listed as a municipality. For positions and other information that occur in both counties and municipalities, Baltimore City is listed separately at the end of the county list and before the municipal list.

The first table in the report, "Represented Counties and Municipalities," provides estimated populations, expenditure budgets, and numbers of employees for jurisdictions represented in this report. This information may be helpful in the selection of jurisdictions to serve as a reference group against which comparisons can be made.

In using the salary data, we suggest that you refer to the job descriptions given for each position. Respondents were asked to read these descriptions before recording salary data under any particular job title. It is more important that the job description match the position you are comparing than that the job titles match. Also, be aware that the standard workweek varies among jurisdictions, as reported in the table, "Normal Work Schedule," which begins on page 7.

IGS, MACo, and MML would like to thank all of those who completed the questionnaire and who have offered suggestions throughout the years on ways to improve the survey.

FY 2001 Compensation Survey of Maryland Local Governments

Pay scales. compensation, government workers, Maryland

*****

Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/ or http://kevindayhoffart.com/ = http://www.kevindayhoff.com/ Kevin Dayhoff Westminster: http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/ or http://www.westgov.net/ = www.kevindayhoff.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff Kevin Dayhoff's The New Bedford Herald: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/ = www.newbedfordherald.net Explore Carroll: www.explorecarroll.com The Tentacle: www.thetentacle.com

Westminster will impose job cuts by Katie Jones for the Westminster Eagle

20080718 Westminster will impose job cuts by Katie Jones for the Westminster Eagle

Westminster will impose job cuts

Layoffs, revision of benefits announced

By Katie V. Jones

Originally Posted on the Westminster Eagle 7/16/08

Westminster Mayor Thomas Ferguson announced Monday the elimination of several jobs within city government as a means to cut the city’s budget in the face of what he called a “challenging year.”

A press release issued Monday said the cuts are needed “to facilitate a balanced budget.”

The city will not fill two vacant positions in the Office of Finance and the Mayor’s Office, and will eliminate the position of Housing Rehabilitation Coordinator and Manager of Planning.

Additionally, the city’s Code Enforcement Officer and Section 8 Housing Inspector positions will be merged into one job, and the City Clerk position will be trimmed from a full-time position to part-time.

Two administrative assistant positions will be cut, but two “staff assistant” positions will be created.

The release said a severance package, including pay and benefits, will be set up for employees whose positions have been eliminated.

In addition, the release announced changes to current city employees’ benefit packages.

Employees will be asked to double their contribution to health care policies from 7 percent to 14 percent.

Also, retirees’ health care benefits will be modified, and employees hired after July 1 of this year will not be eligible for this benefit, the press release stated.

“This has been a challenging year for the city as revenues have declined and expenditures have continued to increase,” said Ferguson in the release.

“Our three-year operating projections do not indicate this situation will improve significantly in the immediate future,” he addded. “Accordingly, I am reluctantly outlining the steps we have taken to adapt to this financial situation.”

Borrowing $3.5 million

The job cuts were not discussed at Monday’s meeting of the mayor and council.At the meeting, though, city officials did discuss how they would spend the $3.5 million loan that the council authorized in a special session July 9.

The bond money is targeted at road overlay projects, and Jeff Glass, director of public works, briefed the council on which streets would be slated for repairs and the possible order of completion.

Glass said that while his office has organized 11 groupings of streets for “some orderly fashion,” the future contractor of the project may have their own suggestions on how the work should proceed.

Glass noted that while plans are to complete all 11 groups, the rising cost of asphalt could prevent all from completion.

At the special session on July 9, Ferguson had noted that if asphalt prices continue to rise, the city may opt to stall the road repair program and return some of the $3.5 million without using it.

Prices, he said at last week’s meeting, are “going due north,” and will already affect the number of projects the city thinks it can accomplish.

The general obligation bond will be with BB&T Bank and is structured for nine years, with a two-year interest-only component. If the city chooses not to use the full amount, there is no penalty for early repayment, officials said.

At Monday’s session, the council agreed to put the overlay project out to bid instead of extending an existing order with C.J. Miller. While this will delay the project, it is necessary, Ferguson said, to get “the best price we can.”

That process will take 30 days, which Glass described as “the fast track.”

“It has to be advertised and the companies have to put their bids together,” he said. “Thirty days is cutting it.”

While Glass was fairly confident that the first two groups of streets would proceed as planned, Ferguson reminded everyone that the proposal was a “plan.”

“This is a plan and it is subject to modifications and change,” he said.

Jim Joyner contributed to this story.

http://www.explorecarroll.com/news/221/westminster-will-impose-job-cuts/

Westminster City Government Memo: Westminster cutting 9 jobs

Westminster City Government Memo: Westminster cutting 9 jobs

Date of Release: July 14, 2009
Contact: Marge Wolf
City Administrator
PRESS RELEASE

After the July 14 Common Council meeting. Mayor Thomas K. Ferguson announced a series of personnel and other actions required for the FY2009 fiscal year to facilitate a balanced budget.

"As I have cautioned during the budget deliberations, this has been a challenging year for the City as revenues have declined and expenditures have continued to increase. Our three year operating projections do not indicate this situation will improve significantly in the immediate future. Accordingly, I am reluctantly outlining the steps we have taken to adapt to this financial situation."

Among those changes is the following personnel restructuring. These changes in no way reflect on the performance of the employees but reflect a reorganization of the delivery of services.

1. Two vacant positions in Finance and the Mayor's Office have not been funded.

2. Instead of serving as our own general contractor for affordable housing projects, the City will partner with non-profit housing agencies or for profit developers to undertake these projects. The Housing Rehabilitation Coordinator position will be eliminated.

3. The Code Enforcement Officer and the Section 8 Housing Inspector will bemerged into one position under one property maintenance code. To achieve thischange, the Code Enforcement Officer and Section 8 Housing Inspector positions will be eliminated. A new Code Inspector position will be created.

4. The managerial functions of the Planning Department will be combined with the Director of Planning, Zoning and Development and the Manager of Planningposition will be eliminated.

5. Two certified Administrative Assistant positions (Department of Planning, Zoning and Development and Finance) will be eliminated and one certifiedAdministrative Assistant will be reassigned.

6. The central telephone Operator will be relocated from the Recreation Department to the Administrative Offices at 56 West Main Street.

7. Two Staff Assistant positions will be created.

8. The City Clerk position will be transitioned from a full-time position to a part-time position.

The City has developed a uniform severance package, including pay and insurance benefits, for those employees whose positions have been eliminated. They will also receive support in transitioning to other employment and will be given the information and the opportunity to apply for any of the newly created positions for which they are qualified.

Further, the City of Westminster has instituted a number of changes to the employee benefit package. The employees will be asked to double their contribution to the health care policies from 7% to 14%. The retirees health care benefit package will be modified and employees hired after July 1, 2008, would not be eligible for this benefit. In light of the continuing increases the City is facing for basic utilities and materials, task forces will focus on the following areas to meet these challenges:

• Gasoline consumption will be reviewed and modifications will be made to thetake home vehicle policy, the use of pool cars and reimbursement for the use ofprivate vehicles.

• An energy coordinator will be appointed in each City facility to develop anenergy policy and monitor compliance with that policy.

• By centralizing office supply purchasing and distribution, modifying utilization patterns, and identifying waste patterns the City will reduce our consumption of office supplies.

• The cost of providing employee benefits has been increasing every year. TheHealth Care Committee will a develop a long-term strategy to maintain anemployee benefit package at a reasonable cost both to the City and the employee.

• As was indicated in Mike Evan's presentation to the Mayor and Common
Council, the City needs to increase the recycling rate to decrease our landfill and hauling costs.

20080614 Westminster City Government Memo: Westminster cutting 9 jobs

Mayor: Westminster cutting 9 positions Posted by the Carroll County Times at 4:27 p.m.

Mayor: Westminster cutting 9 positions Posted by the Carroll County Times at 4:27 p.m.

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/07/14/news/breaking_news/88westminster.txt

By Bryan Schutt, Times Staff Writer

Monday, July 14, 2008

Mayor Thomas Ferguson confirmed that Westminster will be eliminating nine city government positions and creating three new jobs.

The following positions are being eliminated:

two administrative assistant positions;

the manager of planning position;

the housing rehabilitation coordinator position;

the Section Eight housing inspector position;

and the code enforcement Officer position.

Two vacant positions, one in the finance department and one in the mayor’s office, won’t be funded.

He also confirmed that the city clerk position will be reduced to a part-time position, one administrative assistant will be reassigned and, unrelated to the personnel moves, another administrative assistant position will be retiring and that position will not be filled.

Two staff assistant positions and a Code Inspector position will be created, Ferguson said.

The mayor and Common Council will discuss the personnel actions more during tonight’s council meeting at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 1838 Emerald Hill Lane.

See Tuesday’s Times (Carroll County Times) for more.

20080614 Westminster cutting 9 jobs

20060410 Westminster Employee Action

20060410 Westminster Employee Action

Note: I was given this document by certain Westminster City Employees anonymously… KED

April 10, 2006

Employee action: Most of the employees agree with most of these points. Not all the employees agree with all the points. Police not included.

1. Non-sworn employees have waited several years for an increase in pay and benefits. During this wait, police officers and certain other employees have received substantial pay increases.
2. Non-sworn employees need to be prioritized for FY 2007 pay and benefit enhancements.
3. Relations between the mayor and council - and employees are at a crisis breaking point. All communication has broken down. The situation at present appears to have passed a point where anything can repair the relations.
4. Employees feel blown-off by current mayor and council. Current mayor and council are condescending and only give lip service to the employees. Efforts from the mayor seem misleading, superficial, and not sincere.
5. Employees distrust current mayor and council and feel they lack integrity.
6. Employees lack confidence that the current mayor and council have the competence to run the city. The city is not a bank, where you can make it up as you go.
7. Many feel the mayor and council are in it for themselves and not for the city.
8. Many feel that the mayor only wants to be the mayor, so he can say that he is the mayor. There is concern that councilmen just want to run for higher office and are using the city and its employees for their own gain.
9. Mayor and council don’t know the employees, their jobs or how things work and don’t appear to care to know.
10. Mayor and council do not back up employees leaving them to twist in the wind.
11. Employees afraid to disagree or take their problems to the mayor and council because they fear negative repercussions.
12. Employee attempts to talk with press ignored by Carroll County Times and Baltimore Sun, which appears to not question mayor, while the Times and the Sun questions all the other towns.
13. Employees have to look out for their own best interests.
14. This mayor and council not looking out for employees – just themselves. As a result, employees actively seeking union representation, feeling that they have no choice. Outside union organizers have contacted city personnel to take advantage of this situation.
15. The mayor and city council have created employee unrest and low morale for which union organizers can capitalize.
16. Confidential employee morale study not confidential and further lowered morale.
17. Concern that if mayor and council raise taxes and/or if the employees get a pay raise; the mayor and council will blame the tax increase on employees and not on their wasteful spending, which includes the city manager.
18. Right now, employees don’t see long-range plan for the city, except what is in it for mayor and council.
19. Employees don’t know where the city is going or what to do.
20. Whatever is agreed to can change whenever mayor and council find it expedient with no feedback or consulting with the employees. Things just seem to be made up as they go.
21. Making recreation a department level ill timed and made morale worse. Used money that should have gone to other employees, while other employees have been waiting for years for pay parity. Decision to make recreation a department was knee-jerk and made by suspending the rules and doing it all at one council meeting. As a result, an employee quit and another threatened to quit.
22. While other employees wait and wait for pay relief, recreation made department level without a committee or study. Proof that a study is just a stalling technique.
23. Meanwhile city has no separate independent human resources department - but now has a director level recreation department.
24. Mayor and council considered an information technology director – before it had a department level human resources director.
25. There is a strong lack of trust for current human resources office. Employees feel that confidentiality is not maintained.
26. Employees impatient for things to change for the better. Feel too many committees are a ruse to insulate mayor and council from decisions.
27. Mayor doesn’t accept responsibility for anything – especially if he can hide behind a committee.
28. Employees are proud to be frugal and save the city money. They don’t need to be given money rewards by mayor and council, their pride is their reward.
29. Employees proud to do their job well and solve problems creatively, when there is lack of budget.
30. Hiring a city manager is an affront to the employees and destroys a sense of team. Previous mayor did the job for $10k a year.
31. Last time city hired a city manager it didn’t work.
32. Money to be used on city manager is not necessary and could be better spent elsewhere.
33. City manager will only add an additional insulating layer between employees and mayor and council. City manager position does not have support of employees.
34. City manager adds complicating layer between public and city. Often citizens currently have direct access to city and can get things done.
35. July 1999, new contributory pension system became effective…
36. June 2000, 129 employees, including some police, had to choose paying one-year retroactive cost or be penalized when they retired.
37. It would have cost the city approximately $75,000 to pay the retroactive costs for the 129 employees under the new contributory pension system.
38. City didn’t offer to pay the retroactive amount. When LEOPS was subsequently adopted for the police officers, all retroactive contributions were paid by the city.
39. 2000 to 2001 Budget, only police officers received reclassified pay scale: $1,200 more than everyone else. This did not include other non-sworn police personnel.
40. Fiscal year 2002 to 2003, city council gave employees a 1% cost of living increase when cost of living in area with month used for calculation was actually 2.2%.
41. 2002: city police got union representation and started requests for separate retirement system (LEOPS).
42. 2002: city offered police a plan where the city would put in between 5 to 9% of officers annual salary based on the number of years they have been employed. The police officers rejected the offer.
43. Now police seem to have what they want. (Baltimore Sun, November 12, 2002). LEOPS will cost the city $364,000 a year or $17 million over 25 years after factoring in inflation and additional officers. Police gave up their pay raises the next year to support the plan. Yet several years later, they got a triple-step increase.
44. LEOPS was adopted July 2003 and the city paid the police contribution retroactively.
45. City employees would like an improved non-LEOPS pension plan. The 401a can be used as an instrument to increase the percent available to city employees at the time of retirement. Six percent, with an equal match, would be great. The city’s goal should strive for 50% of an employee’s salary at retirement.
46. The city employees would like to be compensated for unused sick leave at retirement.
47. Improved longevity and shift differential is important. Longevity needs to reflect cost of living changes. Our number is static and not pegged to inflation.
48. Non-sworn employees have waited several years for an increase in pay and benefits. During this wait, police officers and certain other employees have received substantial pay increases.
49. Non-sworn employees need to be prioritized for FY 2007 pay and benefit enhancements.

20050714 Westminster prepares to survey employees cct

20050714 Westminster prepares to survey employees By Robert Brodsky for the Carroll County Times

Westminster prepares to survey employees By Robert Brodsky for the Carroll County Times

Westminster prepares to survey employees

By Robert Brodsky, Times Staff Writer

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Hey, Westminster City employees. How do you like your job? Do you feel appreciated by your supervisor? Are you overworked? How about underpaid?

City workers will have the opportunity to answer questions like these and others as Westminster prepares for its first employee opinion survey.

The survey, which will be done by a yet unselected private consulting firm specializing in human resources work, will look at how the city's 160 employees view their jobs and examine what can be done to improve worker satisfaction, said Westminster Mayor Thomas Ferguson.

"It's a physical checkup of the [city's work force] environment," he said.

The employee opinion survey was a central point in Ferguson's campaign for mayor last spring. He said morale among employees had declined in recent years and wanted to find a way to improve relations between the city and its work force.

"One of the major reasons in doing this is to send a message to employees that we will listen to what you have to say," Ferguson said.

The survey's success will be based on two essential elements, Ferguson said. Employees must be assured their answers will be kept confidential and that they will result in meaningful change.

"If nothing comes of it, they're going to say 'Don't ask us again,'" Ferguson said. "We're planning to take these answers and factor them into our strategic planning process."

The survey will not result in any hirings or firings, nor any immediate shift in how the workforce is structured, Ferguson said. Rather, the survey could help determine which departments are lacking adequate equipment, which personnel may need increased training and whether employees as a whole believe they are fairly compensated and appreciated for the work they perform.

The city has received four bids by firms interested in performing the survey, Ferguson said. The bids range from $7,500 - a questionnaire that would be sent to all employees and then analyzed by the firm - to a $27,000 proposal that would include one-on-one interviews, group meetings and focus groups.

The city's personnel committee, composed of Finance Director Joe Urban, City Councilmembers Robert Wack and Suzanne Albert and Human Resources Administrator Darlene Childs, will hear presentations from the four consultants Monday and Tuesday.

Urban anticipates the committee will make its decision based not only on cost but on the services that would be most beneficial to city employees.

"Just mailing out a questionnaire may not inspire the most amount of confidence from employees," Urban said. "We want to structure the process to create the highest level of confidence from employees."

The city plans to pay for the survey by diverting resources from a $100,000 fund set aside to cover the cost of potential salary increments that could be suggested in an upcoming salary study, Urban said.

That study, which will be conducted by a different firm, will compare the salaries of Westminster City employees to those in the private sector and in other neighboring cities.

If needed, funds for salary increases could be supplemented through the city's emergency fund or through it's unappropriated surplus, Urban said.

The personnel committee plans to make a decision on a consulting firm for the employee opinion survey next week. The proposal would then go before the Westminster City Council on July 25.

If approved, the study could start in August and take between 60 and 90 days to complete.

Reach staff writer Robert Brodsky at 410-857-7865 or Rbrodsky@lcniofmd.com.

20050714 Westminster prepares to survey employees By Robert Brodsky for the Carroll County Times

20050620 Carroll County Times: New mayor eager to work with employees

By Robert Brodsky, Times Staff Writer

Monday, June 20, 2005

Q&A

Name: Thomas Ferguson

Residence: Westminster

Age: 63

Job: Mayor of Westminster

Reason for becoming involved in city government: Was involved for many years in civic and community groups, but, following his retirement, he wanted to provide a greater contribution to the city.

On May 9, Thomas Ferguson was elected mayor of Westminster, besting former Mayor Kevin Dayhoff by more than 120 votes. Ferguson, a retired bank executive, served nearly four years on the Westminster City Council before taking over as mayor.

Q: How has life changed since becoming mayor of Westminster?

A: I still take the garbage out and still have to walk the dog. Obviously, it hasn't been a dramatic change for me. I've only been retired for about a year. I was used to keeping a regular schedule, and I intend to maintain regular hours here. I've been spending a lot of hours here in the initial days and weeks just to get up to speed about what's going on. But not a lot has changed. I guess the only difference now is that I get to sign things.

Q: What changes have you put in place since taking office and what other changes are on the immediate horizon?

A: I started a regular staff meeting with the folks that report directly to me. We had our first staff meeting last week, and we're going to do that on a monthly basis. It's something that's important and needed, and it's new. Most of the first month has been spent figuring out how this place operates and getting a better understanding of the decision-making process.

Longer term, I want to start a formal strategic planning process. We are going to do a citywide employee opinion survey to get an understanding of how they feel about their jobs. That's the basis for another part of the strategic plan. What is it that employees need and want and what improvements do we need to make as an employer? It's a 360-degree look at ourselves. My experience in all the years that I have been doing this kind of stuff is that the best place to get information is from employees. They'll tell you the truth as long as their opinions and comments are protected and confidential. Sometime - I suspect this summer - we are going to do a citywide analysis of how our jobs are ranked; how we evaluate our jobs and whether or not our job categories are properly structured.

Q: Keeping with the subject of employee relations, you expressed concern during your campaign about the morale of city workers. Do you believe that your concerns were accurate and, if so, what can be done to improve the situation?

A: Part of the purpose of the opinion survey is to get to that question. Is morale an issue and, if so, what are the factors causing concerns among morale? I think my instincts are going to be true and that employees are looking forward to getting their opinions out. ... We are going to get the answer to that in the next few months.

Q: How will your administration be different than that of your predecessor, Kevin Dayhoff?

A: I am going to be here on a regular basis and be accessible for citizens and employees. I tend to be involved with what's going on in city government. Not to the degree of doing any micromanaging. That's what we hire experts to do. But to understand how we operate and ask questions about why we are doing what we are doing and is there a better way to do it? I am very interested in finding ways to make this place more efficient and more cost-effective. I am confident the employees will help us identify areas where we can find some productivity improvements and cost savings. So, I am going to be very much interested in getting employees involved in their day-to-day work life here and telling me and the council and the supervisory management staff what they think can be improved.

Q: What are some of the biggest issues facing the city of Westminster?

A: We have a flood of lots outside the city limits of Westminster that have an awful lot of potential development. I think the pressure the city will be facing is the question of annexation. How big do we want the city boundaries to become? Because the number of available building lots is going to be stunning. I think that's a big issue and one we have to get our arms around pretty quickly. That's why we need to have a full-blown strategic plan that talks about where the future city boundaries should be. We have this thing on a map now. There's this hypothetical line - and literally it's a line on the map - that says "future city boundary." And we have the city water and sewer service area and then we have the actual boundary. We need to ask ourselves a question: Where did that come from and is that what we want? Do we want the boundaries of the city of Westminster to be as big as that? And what are the implications for services and taxpayers? And along with that comes growth and questions about water and where it is going to come from.

Q: How does the city balance continued residential and commercial growth while also remaining a small Main Street town?

A: First of all, we need to make a decision on size and what we are going to look like. Get that down in the form of a document that everybody has bought into and then stick to it. How much more annexation do we want to do? And where do we want that to occur? The whole question of planning for growth and where we want that to occur has to be part of our overall plan. And what kind of growth? Do we want all our neighborhoods to look alike? I live in a neighborhood that is mixed. Different-style houses. Different architectural features. Multifamily, single-family, small houses and big houses. That's the kind of neighborhood that used to be typical. Mixed use has sort of gotten a bad name somewhere along the line. But that's kind of how we all grew up in small-town America. We can't turn the clock back, but I think there's something we can be doing better in our planning process to make the neighborhoods look less homogeneous.

Q: What do you envision Westminster will look like 20 to 25 years from now?

A: Well, growth is inevitable. We're blessed in many ways. We are in a beautiful part of the state, geographically convenient to places like Baltimore, [Washington] D.C., Philadelphia, Gettysburg and, for that matter, even New York. It's three hours to the ocean and four hours to the far western part of the state. Geographically, we are in a wonderful situation. We still have an awful lot of open farmland that is very attractive to people, so we are going to be a magnet for growth. And we're not going to be able to avoid that. I am hoping what we can do is deal with that in a way that doesn't turn this community into something that looks like everything else.

We have beautiful architecture in these older neighborhoods. You see some of that late 19th-century, early 20th-century architecture that's still very visible, particularly in some of these older neighborhoods on Main Street. These are things worth preserving. I would like to see more and more opportunities for people to live here and to work here. Not much in that regard the city can do by itself. But we need the help and cooperation of the county. I am hoping we can find ways to make it affordable.

Reach staff writer Robert Brodsky at 410-857-7865 or RBrodsky@lcniofmd.com.

20050427 Budget to give police a raise The Advocate by Jamie Kelly

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 THE ADVOCATE OF WESTMINSTER AND FINKSBURG

Budget to give police a raise Council to hold a public hearing May 3 on proposed Budget

BY JAMIE KELLY, ADVOCATE STAFF WRITER

In Westminster’s proposed budget, introduced at Monday’s Council Meeting, the police are slated to get a large raise as a way to keep more officers and better recruit highly-qualified officers to join the force.

During a budget workshop April 28, the council agreed to change the proposed budget to give the officers a three-step pay raise, two steps more than the other employees will receive. In the original proposal, all employees would have gotten a one-step raise, like they do each year, with more money possible after a planned salary study.

The proposal came from Council Member Thomas Ferguson, who asked Joseph Urban, city finance director, to determine how much it would cost to increase police salaries by two extra steps. That would cost $125,686.

Council Member Roy Chiavacci strongly supported that measure. When his turn came to ask questions about the budget, nearly all were concerned with the police department.

Police Chief Jeff Spaulding sent out a survey to other departments that
Westminster competes with for recruits. He said that new police officers in Westminster make around 20 percent less than those in other jurisdictions.

That, he said, will keep people from applying. Chiavacci said that the police need more help than other departments, because they have seven vacancies out of a staff of a little more than 40, while other departments have only a few with staff size of about 100.

Spaulding asked the council for the pay increase, because while the council has already done some to help with recruitment, pay is a major issue. He said he didn’t expect the problem to be solved overnight, or even in one fiscal year, but that the raise would be a big step.

But both Mayor Kevin Dayhoff and Council President Damian Halstad opposed the raise.

Dayhoff said that since the budget already includes money for a salary study, it wouldn’t be fair to other employees to raise police salaries before everyone’s salary has been looked at.

Rather, he said, the council should approve the budget, which already gave every employee a one-step increase.

The other employees have seen the council repeatedly favor the police department, he said, and if that continues to happen, it could hurt morale.

He said the other employees of the city also have an effect on public safety, and that should be recognized.

Halstad said his major problem was that Westminster’s salary was being compared to those in Baltimore, Baltimore County and other, larger jurisdictions.

While Westminster might compete with those places for officers, he said, the city can’t afford to pay as much as they can, and the salaries don’t necessarily need to be as high, because there’s less danger.

But four council members voted to change the budget to include the raises for the police.

“It’s a leap of faith, but it’s a good leap,” said Council Member Suzanne Albert.

####

20050427 Budget to give police a raise The Advocate by Jamie Kelly