Anne Arundel County Council votes to raise its salaries

The Anne Arundel County Council voted Tuesday night to raise its members’ salaries.

The bill raises the salaries of all council members by 30% over four years. The salary figures are based on a report issued by a bipartisan salary commission established in 2025 to look at the council members’ pay. The last time the council approved a pay increase was in 2022.

The salary increase passed 4-3, with the council’s three Republican members voting against it.

The new compensation will not take effect until December, when new council members are sworn in — members cannot vote to raise their own salaries during their terms of office. It is routine for the council to consider its compensation every four years.

The increases mean that beginning later this year:

• The County Council chair will be paid $58,400, up from $50,779
• The County Council vice chair will be paid $54,400, up from $46,598
• The other council members will be paid $53,400, up from $45,402

With the annual increases in December 2029:

• The County Council chair will be paid $67,400
• The County Council vice chair will be paid $60,400
• The other council members will be paid $59,400

“Public service is not a vow of poverty. We’re not getting rich off this, but we are making a big sacrifice,” Council Chair Julie Hummer said.

The Anne Arundel County Council is not considered full-time, though council members routinely put in hours above what is typically considered part-time work. The council does not meet in August.

Historically, Hummer said, members of the County Council have been self-employed or worked in white-collar jobs that allow flexibility and time off to attend council meetings.

“I think we’re losing good candidates if someone feels like the salary is not enough,” Hummer said. “I don’t think this is out of range.”

Council member Lisa Rodvien, a Democrat who chose to not run for reelection, said her family’s finances were a big factor in her decision.

She said it’s “insulting” that the council is viewed as part-time work, because of the amount of time members spend in their communities and working on legislation.

“We need to have a compensation that allows everyone to run. Not just people who are independently wealthy,” Rodvien said.

The 2025 salary commission report said members of the Anne Arundel County Council were paid less than council members in other similarly sized jurisdictions in Maryland, and said that many council members work full-time hours despite not being full-time county employees.

“The Commission discussed this at length and determined that there was a need to make adjustments to salaries to account for the amount of work that goes into being an effective council member, representing [about] 85,000 people per district,” the report says.

Two members of the commission dissented, calling the 7% annual increases “excessive.”

During Tuesday’s meeting, one of the dissenting members, David Morsberger, called the salary increases “fiscally irresponsible.”

Council member Allison Pickard, who is the Democratic nominee for Anne Arundel County executive, said that although the job technically may be part-time, members of the council routinely put in significantly more hours of work.

“If we were to break down the work we do on a weekly or monthly basis, it’s probably something like $3 an hour,” she said.

Republican council member Nathan Volke said he didn’t run for his council position because of the paycheck.

“I signed up for this job because it was a job I wanted to do. I feel like I had a perspective that I believed was valuable in government,” Volke said.

He said that council members need to make enough money to do the job and serve constituents well, but said the council should only be asking about how much they get paid, not how well they are paid compared with council members in other jurisdictions.

In Baltimore County, council members are paid $69,000. In Howard County, council members will be paid about $87,400 in 2027. And in Montgomery County, council members are paid more than $167,000.

Because of the ongoing affordability crisis and financial constraints faced by the state, Volke said council members should “stand up” and say they don’t need a pay increase right now.

Pickard said that many members of the council were “speaking from a point of economic privilege.”

“A lower salary does limit those who cannot afford to sacrifice that amount of time for that amount of pay,” she said. “It does preclude who runs for office.”

Amanda Fiedler, one of the council’s Republicans, said she didn’t even consider the compensation when she decided to run.

“We all, I believe, on this council work very hard. There are days in a week where I get four hours of sleep, because that’s what it takes,” Fiedler said.

“With public service, I have always felt there is sacrifice,” she added.