In Montgomery, nearly 1,200 county employees earn over $100,000, including overtime

Montgomery's top managers make more than those in Fairfax. The top brass in Montgomery and Fairfax counties are raking in big bucks. In Montgomery, nearly 1,200 employees make more than $100,000 when overtime is included in their pay, according to fiscal 2009 data obtained by the Washington Examiner. Fairfax would not release its overtime pay, but still has nearly 800 employees bringing in salaries of more than $100k a year.

The high salaries for so many public workers is "out of balance" with what private companies pay, said Dee Hodges, chairwoman of the Maryland Taxpayers Association. Hodges said the traditional trade-off of public-sector employees forgoing higher wages for more job security is long gone.

"Now they have both the job security and more money," Hodges said.

Still, leaders in Montgomery are making bank compared with their counterparts in Fairfax. Department heads in Montgomery are paid upward of $40,000 a year more than their colleagues across the Potomac, raising questions from taxpayer advocates and union officials about whether the high pay is appropriate given Montgomery's dire fiscal situation. Montgomery is facing nearly a $1 billion gap, and has been warned that it may lose its AAA bond rating. In response, County Executive Ike Leggett has proposed doubling the county's energy tax, raising taxes on cell phones and slashing county services.

Fairfax, which doesn't rely on volatile income tax revenues, is expected to adopt a budget Tuesday that closes only a $250 million gap. Supervisors plan to raise property taxes and bring back a vehicle registration fee to close the hole. Fairfax and Montgomery often are considered rival counties and are virtually identical in many areas, including having about 1 million residents of similar financial and demographic backgrounds.

Montgomery's top earner in fiscal 2009 was Chief Administrative Officer Tim Firestine, who made $266,000. Appointed Fairfax County Executive Anthony Griffin, Firestine's counterpart, made $240,000. Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger makes $216,000 a year, 20 percent more than the Fairfax County Police Chief David Rohrer's $176,000. The $195,000 salary of Montgomery's human resources director, Joe Adler, is 28 percent -- or $43,000 -- more than that of Fairfax HR Director Susan Woodruff.

Not all of the pay comparisons tilt in Montgomery's favor. Fairfax pays some of its higher-level employees, such as deputy county executives and assistant county attorneys, at much higher rates than Montgomery. Montgomery County Executive Leggett's spokesman, Patrick Lacefield, said the county intentionally pays more to attract top talent, whose value to the county far exceeds their higher pay. He noted that comparisons between counties aren't always straightforward and added that Montgomery has lured top Fairfax employees with better pay.

"We have had in the past a long-standing tradition of paying people better ... which is why we've gotten the best people," Lacefield said.

"Oh, come on, does anybody really believe that?" said Gino Renne, president of the Montgomery Municipal and County Government Employees Organization.

Renne said his members are bearing the brunt of the county's budget cuts while management refuses to look at their own compensation.

"There's never been a serious discussion about the excesses in management," he said. SOURCE: Washington Examiner

Management Salaries in MoCo Government

MCGEO, Montgomery County’s employee union, held a rally last week to protest what they believe are unfair budget cuts targeting their members. One of their complaints is that county managers are overpaid and are largely protected from the layoffs that will be imposed on rank-and-file workers. But MCGEO is not merely complaining – they hired McCarthy Consulting of Edgewater, Maryland to obtain salaries of county manager classifications and compare them to comparable classifications in other counties. And now we present that data to our readers. Brace yourselves, folks.

Following are salaries for all managers in the Montgomery County government who make more than $150,000 per year and comparative statistics for their peers across the region.

Chief Administrative Officer Salaries
Montgomery: $266,300
Fairfax: $240,200
Alexandria: $233,100
District of Columbia: $225,000
Baltimore County: $190,000
Howard: $125,000
Prince George’s: $120,200
Anne Arundel: $106,500
Mean Salary: $188,288
MoCo % Above Mean: 41%

Chief of Police Salaries
Montgomery: $216,600
District of Columbia: $201,100
Baltimore County: $195,000
Howard: $112,800
Baltimore City: $112,200
Fairfax: $105,800
Anne Arundel: $99,600
Prince George’s: $98,900
M-NCPPC: $90,800
Alexandria: $87,800
Arlington: $62,000
Mean Salary: $125,691
MoCo % Above Mean: 72%

Fire Chief Salaries
Montgomery: $211,800
District of Columbia: $181,800
Baltimore County: $172,500
Howard: $108,800
Fairfax: $105,800
Baltimore City: $104,000
Anne Arundel: $99,600
Prince George’s: $98,900
Alexandria: $87,800
Arlington: $62,000
Mean Salary: $122,600
MoCo % Above Mean: 73%

Chief Counsel/County Attorney Salaries
Montgomery: $206,500
Fairfax: $201,600
Alexandria: $195,000
Arlington: $187,500
Baltimore City: $160,000
Baltimore County: $158,700
WSSC: $138,900
District of Columbia: $118,700
Prince George’s: $109,000
Howard: $101,800
Anne Arundel: $99,600
Mean Salary: $152,482
MoCo % Above Mean: 35%

Finance Director Salaries
Montgomery: $195,600
M-NCPCC: $172,000
District of Columbia: $157,900
Baltimore City: $112,200
Fairfax: $100,800
Prince George’s: $98,900
WSSC: $92,300
Howard: $91,900
Anne Arundel: $88,100
Alexandria: $83,600
Baltimore County: $76,300
Arlington: $62,000
Mean Salary: $110,967
MoCo % Above Mean: 76%

Personnel/Human Resources Director Salaries
Montgomery: $195,200
Baltimore County: $130,400
District of Columbia: $128,300
Baltimore City: $112,200
Fairfax: $100,800
Prince George’s: $98,900
Anne Arundel: $88,100
WSSC: $83,800
Alexandria: $83,600
Howard: $82,900
M-NCPPC: $75,000
Arlington: $62,000
Mean Salary: $103,433
MoCo % Above Mean: 89%

Planning/Economic Development Director Salaries
Montgomery: $194,500
Baltimore County: $126,500
District of Columbia: $118,500
Baltimore City: $112,200
Fairfax: $100,800
Howard: $91,900
Anne Arundel: $88,100
Alexandria: $87,800
M-NCPPC: $75,000
Arlington: $62,000
Mean Salary: $105,730
MoCo % Above Mean: 84%

Budget Director Salaries
Montgomery: $194,500
Baltimore County: $158,700
District of Columbia: $157,900
Prince George’s: $109,000
Fairfax: $100,800
Anne Arundel: $99,600
Howard: $91,900
Baltimore City: $77,200
M-NCPPC: $75,000
WSSC: $74,000
Arlington: $59,100
Mean Salary: $108,882
MoCo % Above Mean: 79%

Information Systems Director Salaries
Baltimore County: $195,000
Montgomery: $194,500
District of Columbia: $128,300
Fairfax: $105,800
Prince George’s: $98,900
M-NCPPC: $91,000
Anne Arundel: $88,100
Alexandria: $87,800
Howard: $82,900
Baltimore City: $77,500
Arlington: $62,000
Mean Salary: $110,164
MoCo % Above Mean: 77%

Library Director Salaries
Baltimore County: $177,000
Montgomery: $169,500
District of Columbia: $133,900
Fairfax: $100,800
Alexandria: $83,600
Baltimore City: $77,200
Arlington: $62,000
Mean Salary: $114,857
MoCo % Above Mean: 48%

Public Information Director Salaries
Montgomery: $165,000
Baltimore County: $137,800
District of Columbia: $107,100
Fairfax: $87,700
WSSC: $83,800
Howard: $82,900
Alexandria: $79,700
M-NCPPC: $75,000
Anne Arundel: $72,300
Prince George’s: $70,300
Arlington: $62,000
Baltimore City: $39,700
Mean Salary: $88,608
MoCo % Above Mean: 86%

Director of Parks/Recreation Salaries
Montgomery: $162,000
Baltimore County: $155,600
District of Columbia: $118,500
Howard: $91,900
Anne Arundel: $88,100
Alexandria: $83,600
Baltimore City: $77,200
Arlington: $62,000
Mean Salary: $104,863
MoCo % Above Mean: 54%

Aging Director Salaries
Montgomery: $151,400
Baltimore County: $141,100
District of Columbia: $103,000
Prince George’s: $98,900
Anne Arundel: $88,100
Baltimore City: $77,200
Howard: $74,900
Fairfax: $69,100
Arlington: $53,000
Mean Salary: $95,189
MoCo % Above Mean: 59%

McCarthy Consulting also collected data on 59 rank-and-file occupations and found that MoCo workers made 10.7% more than area averages.

SOURCE: MPW

Government closed on Tuesday, 2/9

The government is closed on Tuesday, February 9, 2010.