Salaries proposed for three cabinet positions being created by County Executive Marc Elrich received scrutiny Monday during a meeting of the County Council’s Government Operations and Fiscal Policy Committee.
In February, Elrich said he wanted to hire a chief digital officer, chief labor relations officer and chief equity officer as non-merit positions. At the same time, he eliminated four merit positions in the departments of finance, liquor control, human resources and procurement, along with a technology specialist.
Elrich estimates the changes will save $750,000 per year. He has also said that because the three positions will be under his direct supervision, he will have greater control.
Elrich pledged during his campaign to make county government more efficient. As his administration enters its sixth month, he has yet to appoint nine permanent officers, in addition to a permanent police chief and an inspector general to replace Edward Blansitt, who will retire this summer.
Merit employees receive salaries and benefits in a tiered system based on full or part-time status, years of service and other factors, similar to the federal civil service system. Non-merit employees serve at the pleasure of either the county executive or department head.
During a Monday morning work session, council committee members gave the preliminary green light to Elrich’s proposed $6 million budget for his office, which represents a $223,000 increase from last year’s budgeted amount. The cost of each position is:
– $209,250 for a full-time chief labor relations officer, responsible for helping to negotiate collective bargaining agreements and coordinating other activities with the county’s unions.
– $209,250 for the full-time chief equity officer, in charge of implementing the county’s equity policy that Elrich has touted. Elrich and the council have pledged to craft policies using a “racial equity lens.”
– $115,933 for a part-time chief digital officer who will work on best practices for the county’s information technology strategy.
Chief Administrative Officer Andrew Kleine said Monday that the county is recruiting for the equity and digital officers.
An interview with a candidate for the labor relations officer is planned, he said, but he is not ready to release the name. Kleine said to this point, all salaries for new cabinet appointees have been lower than that of their predecessors. He said he doesn’t anticipate the need to increase any salary above $210,000 but it might be necessary “in some situations.”
“It is competitive and gives us the ability to compete for talent,” Kleine said of the salary levels.
Council member Andrew Friedson said he understood the need for the county to provide competitive salaries, but worried about salaries growing to unsustainable levels.
“If that person stays for a decade, which we hope they will stay for a long time, then their salary gets way beyond that because of cost-of-living increases and other factors,” he said. “That to me is a bit of a challenge, and as we’re making decisions about how we make sustainable choices, salaries in county government is a real place to demonstrate leadership.”
Kleine said some department heads might not get cost-of-living adjustments at the same rate as other county employees.
“You’re not necessarily going to see the same salary growth in that part of the workforce as in the rest,” he said.
The council is scheduled to take a straw vote on the county executive’s proposed $5.7 billion budget May 16, with final action expected May 23.
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media
