9-30-2026 4:18am

Huge Raise

Jeff Barto Editor

Baltimore County Weighs Council Pay Increase as Two New Seats Are Added

Baltimore County Council members are considering a proposal to raise their annual pay from $69,000 to $119,750 as the council expands from seven seats to nine in December. A separate bill would increase the next county executive’s salary 25%, from $192,000 to $240,000.

The council proposal would raise regular members’ pay by about 73.5%. The council chair’s salary would rise from $77,000 to $129,750. Both changes would take effect with the next term.

With nine members, total annual council base pay would reach $1,087,750, up from $491,000 for the current seven-member council. The difference reflects both the higher salaries and the addition of two seats; it excludes benefits and other costs.

Voters approved the council expansion in 2024. They also approved a charter amendment classifying council membership as a full-time position for compensation purposes. The salary bill cites that change and a county work group’s recommendation to pay members for full-time professional work.

Council Chair Mike Ertel introduced the council salary bill and, at the county executive’s request, the executive salary bill, according to the legislation. The proposed council salaries are below the county Personnel and Salary Advisory Board’s initial recommendation of $140,000 for members and $150,000 for the chair.

The pay proposals follow a dispute over council pensions. A 2024 law would have allowed some retired council members’ pensions to be recalculated using future salary increases. The council repealed it in March after criticism.

The Baltimore Sun reported that David Williams, president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, questioned the raises while county residents face financial pressures. A Maryland Association of Counties fiscal 2026 survey listed regular council salaries of $167,172 in Montgomery County and $141,548 in Prince George’s County. At $240,000, Baltimore County’s proposed executive salary would exceed every county executive salary in that survey.

The council is scheduled to discuss the bills at a Tuesday work session and again Oct. 13, with a vote set for Oct. 19.