Baltimore County is weighing a proposal to pay its top administrator more than $310,000 a year, an 18% increase that has drawn sharp pushback from rank-and-file workers who say they went without cost-of-living raises in the current budget, the Baltimore Sun reported.
The proposed bump would lift the salary of the county administrative officer by nearly $48,000. If approved, the higher pay would take effect in June 2027, making the position Maryland’s second-highest-paid county administrator. D’Andrea Walker, the current county administrative officer, makes $263,000 and was the county government’s 10th-highest-paid employee in 2025.
“I certainly understand that an increase of this amount draws attention, particularly when reviewed as a percentage of the current salary, but percentages alone do not tell the full story,” Renee Coleman, the county’s director of human resources, said Tuesday.
The measure returned to the Baltimore County Council on Tuesday after an initial postponement last week. Councilman Izzy Patoka, a Pikesville Democrat, voiced hesitation about the escalating top salaries, prompting the council to hold off on a final vote ahead of a challenging budget season.
Weighing Ranks Against Leadership Pay
For weeks, county public works technician Lassell “Tony” Burger has balked at the salary increases, arguing that raises for rank-and-file county employees should be addressed first. On Tuesday, he emphasized that Baltimore County should chart its own course rather than matching compensation packages found in other jurisdictions.
“When we sit down at these tables to make these type of decisions, we need to collect these pieces together from our own brains and not pull legislation from somewhere else,” Burger said. “Baltimore County is its own entity, its own unique thing — we need to start acting like that and stop mimicking other departments, other jurisdictions.”
The debate follows the council’s approval last week of a 25% increase for the next county executive, raising that salary from $192,000 to $240,000. Members also voted to hike their own annual pay by nearly 74%, moving from $69,000 to $119,750 for the next term. The proposed administrator’s salary of over $310,000 would exceed the incoming county executive’s pay by more than $70,000.
An unscientific poll published by the Baltimore Sun showed overwhelming reader opposition to the raises, with 89.8% opposed and 10.1% in support.
Salary Ranks Sixth Among County Administrators Statewide
John Ronquillo, director of the University of Maryland’s Institute for Public Leadership and a public policy professor, noted that the proposed salary sits within a normal range for similar-sized governments nationwide. He pointed out that appointed administrators typically do not receive the same cost-of-living adjustments as other merit employees, creating a compensation lag.
According to a fiscal 2026 salary survey by the Maryland Association of Counties, Walker’s current $263,000 salary ranks sixth among county administrators and managers in the state. Under the proposed increase, only Montgomery County’s chief administrative officer, listed at $322,000, would outearn Baltimore County’s post. Howard County’s chief administrative officer earned $294,959, and Prince George’s County’s earned $275,000.
County fiscal analysis estimates the administrator increase will add about $4,000 to salary costs in the current fiscal year because the change is deferred to June 2027. However, the proposal combined with other recent compensation changes will add an estimated $133,259 annually to retirement costs starting in fiscal 2029.
The Baltimore County Council is scheduled to vote on the measure on Nov. 2.
