It now goes before the General Assembly for hearings and a possible vote.
Senator Chris Van Hollen (L)
Maryland State House (R)
Annapolis, Md (KM) A plan to give the Sheriff a raise in pay was approve on Friday by the Frederick County Legislative Delegation.
It would tie the Sheriff’s salary to the State’s Attorney who makes $188,777 annually, including a cost of living increase. Under this proposal, the Sheriff would received 82.4 percent of the State’s Attorney’s salary which is $183,500 a year. The Sheriff’s current paycheck is $125,000 annually.
Delegate Chris Bouchat, who represents parts of Frederick and Carroll Counties, says now is not the time to boost anyone salary due to inflation. “There’s no hurry to do this,” he said. “And it might be extremely prudent as elected officials to hold this off until next year. And I do support the Sheriff getting a raise.”
In her comments, Delegate Karen Simpson said any decision on the Sheriff’s salary should rest with the county, as it does in six other counties around Maryland. “I think we have a greater probability of getting the increase to the Sheriff’s salary if we do like those six other counties and write legislation that literally says that the county determines what the Sheriff’s salary would be, and then we wouldn’t be revisiting this over and over again,”: she said.
But Delegate April Miller says now is the time for an increase in the Sheriff’s salary. “Pushing this off to next year from a budget standoff we wouldn’t be in any different situation,” she says. “And I think a lot of people in the county support the significant job that the Sheriff has in keeping all of us safe.”
Delegates Bouchat and Simpson voted against the plan to raise the Sheriff’s salary.
Any increase in pay for the Sheriff voted on by the General Assembly would not take affect until after the 2026 election.
The Legislature must vote on this issue because the Sheriff is a state official.
Mid-Air Collision
Prior to the vote on the Sheriff’s salary, members of the Frederick County Legislative Delegation heard from US Senator Chris Van Hollen. He updated them on the collision Wednesday night between an American Airlines passenger jet and a US Army Blackhawk Helicopter over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport. Both aircraft fell into the river.
The incident is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. Senator Van Hollen said his office continues to press the NTSB to conduct its investigation “quickly and transparently.” He says it was “clearly an avoidable accident.”
“:There are some Marylanders who we lost on that flight. We’re not aware of anybody from western Maryland. But we have a number of Marylanders from southern Maryland and other places,”: he says.
Van Hollen said he’s concerned about the increase in air traffic at Reagan National Airport which he called “the most congested airport in the country.” “There’s been a push to get more slots, more air traffic into Reagan National last year,:” he said. :”A number of us voted against the bill because we thought that could create public risk.”
About 67 people were killed in that accident.
By Kevin McManus