Annapolis Mayor Jared Littmann has prevailed in his efforts to expand the size of his office staff, despite some pushback by senior City Council members.

After more than an hour of pointed back and forth, the council voted 6-2 on Monday night to approve legislation that will allow the mayor to hire a deputy chief of staff.

The discussion leading up to the final vote revealed some fractures in the new, all-Democratic City Council.

Littmann wants the deputy position to expand the capacity of his professional office, which he said is already overburdened. The deputy will provide support for the chief of staff, oversee some policy portfolios and coordinate with the City Council, according to a Feb. 5 presentation from the mayor’s office to the council.

“In simple terms, this position helps turn strategy into execution,” Littmann said. “The reason for this position, as clear as I can state it, is to improve capacity.”

However, some council members raised concerns about the scope of work being handled by the mayor’s office, the potential cost for the position and even the title of the legislation approving its creation.

Alderman Rob Savidge and Alderwoman Karma O’Neill voted against the legislation. Alderman Harry Huntley was not present and did not vote.

Savidge, first elected in 2017, led the pushback. He first proposed delaying the vote to allow for more discussion and an amendment, then offered one clarifying the powers and responsibilities of the deputy chief of staff. Both failed.

He also outlined some of his concerns in an opinion piece published Monday morning, including that the mayor’s office should not expand while the council has no staff. He worried about blurring the lines between the mayor’s office and the city manager’s office.

He reiterated those concerns Monday night. He said he tried to postpone the vote because the council did not get a presentation on the deputy chief-of-staff position until Feb. 5.

“I wish we could have had more time to work on this,” he said.

He was joined by O’Neill, who supported the delay and the amendment. She also voted against the legislation.

O‘Neill, who has been on the council since 2021, said she was concerned with the lack of a written job description and authorizing a job that paid more than $100,000 outside of the budget process.

She also said that a constituent texted her during the meeting, saying they felt “duped” because the title of the legislation, “FY2026 Changes in Exempt Service Job Classification,” did not indicate that it was authorizing a new staff position in city government, O’Neill said.

Littmann encouraged the council to pursue stand-alone legislation to address the concerns that some council members had with the new position. Savidge said that idea “helped” allay his concerns.

Back and forth

Savidge said the mayor’s office may be overextended as a result of taking on some of the day-to-day administrative work that he said is supposed to be handled by the city manager.

Annapolis has not had a city manager since May 2025; Victoria Buckland, who was hired as assistant city manager in 2023, has been acting city manager since then.

“I think you’re shouldering too much of the burden for sorting out the operational deficiencies,” Savidge told Littman.

Littmann, meanwhile, said he sought the deputy chief of staff position to help keep the mayor’s office running smoothly. He said his staff is “highly skilled,” but that it’s becoming stretched too thin and at risk of burnout.

The mayor’s office has five full-time staff members, two part-time positions and a contract position. The deputy chief of staff would be paid between $86,552 and 160,737, according to the legislation.

Littmann said funding for the deputy chief of staff position for this fiscal year would be covered by payroll funding that is not currently being used in city government because of acting positions and other unfilled jobs.