The next crop of Howard County elected officials would get annual inflation-tied pay raises but no flat salary boosts, according to a series of votes Monday night by the County Council. The final votes were 3-2 on the council pay bill, with Chairwoman Courtney Watson, an Ellicott City Democrat, and Greg Fox, a Fulton Republican, dissenting. Only Fox opposed the executive's pay bill. The votes mean the executive elected in November would maintain the rate of $160,198, and the new council members' pay would remain at $54,300, though all the current officials voluntarily donated recent pay raises, plus five days of additional pay, to charity because of the recession and in solidarity with county employee furloughs. The council chairman would get $1,000 a year more, the current rate. A citizens' Compensation Commission had recommended a $500, one-time pay raise for County Council members and a $2,500 per year differential for the chairman.
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