ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O’Malley gave more than $600,000 in pay raises to 47 of his top aides at a time when legislative analysts are considering postponing raises for state employees to close a $333 million budget shortfall, according to documents obtained by The Washington Times.
The raises, which range between $2,167 and $33,265 — or between 2.3 percent and 37.5 percent of the employee’s salary — come as state lawmakers say they may have to cut $570 million or more in state spending.
The O’Malley administration defended the raises, saying Maryland needs to have a “professional, high-performing government that works.”
“During the past year, we have worked to reduce spending and eliminate positions. The current Office of the Governor has fewer staff positions and has reduced salary cost by nearly $700,000, compared to the previous administration,” said O’Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese.
The salaries, listed in the budget bill presented to lawmakers each year for approval, were compiled by analysts in the Department of Legislative Services under an obscure requirement that mandates the governor’s office report executive branch employees who get more than the standard 2 percent pay raise.
Many of the raises went to O’Malley Cabinet secretaries, appointed officials who earn about $150,000 each. But deputy secretaries, executive assistants and program directors also were included in the analysis completed by the General Assembly’s budget analysts. The document only identifies employees by position title, not by name.
The superintendent of state police, Col. Terrence B. Sheridan, who left a job as Baltimore County police chief last year to run the state force, was given a raise of $33,265, or 25.7 percent.
Mr. O’Malley’s human resources secretary, Brenda Donald, received a $21,650 pay raise, from $129,560 to $151,210.
The state budget secretary, T. Eloise Foster, saw a pay increase from $154,963 in Mr. O’Malley’s fiscal 2008 budget to $162,825 in his fiscal 2009 budget proposal.
Mrs. Foster, who writes the state budget, said she earned more than what was reported in the fiscal 2008 budget, and that her salary in the fiscal 2009 budget should show no more than a 2 percent cost of living, or COLA, pay raise.
But budget analysts said the documents reflect salaries at the end of the last budget year and don’t always account for pay raises granted during the fiscal year.
Maryland governor’s have leeway to increase salaries for any state employee in the “executive pay plan.” Mrs. Foster also acknowledged that many cost-of-living pay raises are approved after the budget is passed.
In 2000, as mayor of Baltimore, Mr. O’Malley accepted a raise in salary from $95,000 to $125,000 that his predecessor had declined because of the city’s troubled financial condition. Baltimore at the time was facing a $158 million shortfall, but Mr. O’Malley also increased the salary potential for his top aides from a maximum of $108,700 to a maximum of $140,000.
According to the documents, top aides to Comptroller Peter Franchot, state Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp and Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler were also budgeted to get raises between $4,517 and $22,607.
Senate Minority Whip Allan H. Kittleman said it was not right for Mr. O’Malley to raise top officials’ pay when state employees and Maryland residents can’t get the same benefits.
“Everyone in the state of Maryland is forced to pay increasing taxes and is told: ’This is what we have to do. We have this problem with the budget,’ ” said Mr. Kittleman, Howard Republican. “When at the same time they’re hearing about these people who are getting 40, 30, 20 percent pay raises, and that causes a lot of distrust in government.”
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., who is helping lawmakers search for hundreds of millions in budget cuts to help balance the state budget, deferred to Mr. O’Malley’s judgment in setting executive branch pay increases.
“He’s the governor of the state. We want the most effective people possible making decisions on behalf of the state,” said Mr. Miller, Southern Maryland Democrat. “That’s what merit pay is all about.”
Mr. Miller said members and staff in the General Assembly are not set to make any more than the standard 2 percent cost-of-living pay raise.
The General Assembly’s budget analysts recommended cutting state employee cost-of-living pay raises to 1 percent and stalling the increases between five and six months, as a means to save more than $60 million.
Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees are set to rally in front of the State House on Monday to protest potential cuts in state employee pay raises.
The state Board of Revenue Estimates said this week that lawmakers would need to find an additional $330 million to balance the budget this year. House lawmakers say they expect to look for an additional $240 million in cuts — totalling $570 million — to pad the state budget in case the situation gets worse.
Six-figure salaries in Maryland government have become a contentious issue.
Mr. Miller has frequently criticized Mr. Franchot for hiring two aides at $151,000 each, saying they serve little purpose beyond politicking.
But documents released by the comptroller’s office showed that thousands of state employees earn six-figure salaries, including some aides to top legislative leaders.
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