Pay Raise

Faced with worsening economic conditions, employers are planning to dole out even smaller salary increases this year, according to a new survey. And given the climate, some workers might not see raises at all. HR consulting firm Hewitt Associates found that workers could see an average base pay raise of 3 percent, which is less than the 3.8 percent employers had projected in July. "It's not a pretty picture out there," says Ken Abosch, Hewitt's North American practice leader for compensation consulting.

A significant number of Baltimore teachers — in some schools as many as 60 percent of the staff — have received unsatisfactory ratings on their midyear evaluations as the system moves to implement a pay-for-performance contract that's considered a bellwether for a national movement. Teachers contend that the high number of "performance improvement plans," which can be a precursor for dismissal, is an attempt to avoid paying raises. But city school officials say that putting teachers on such plans is part of broader efforts to help them become more effective in the classroom.

ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland senators will have to stand up and be counted if they want to keep a $500 pay raise.But it's a vote with an escape hatch. Even if they vote to do without, a note to the bookkeepers will bring the money back."

The White House has proposed a modest half-percent pay raise for civilian federal employees beginning next year - a move that would affect thousands of Maryland workers. If the across-the-board raise is approved by Congress, it would end a two-year-old salary freeze imposed as part of belt-tightening in Washington. The proposal comes at a time when congressional Republicans have sought to extend the freeze for at least another year. But several Maryland lawmakers and unions representing employees noted that the proposed increase is far less than inflation and doesn't cover recent increases in health care premiums deducted from paychecks.

In a region of Maryland where an average year's pay is only half the $35,000 increase Congress gave itself, the standard-bearer of a Maryland political dynasty finds herself under siege.For seven-term Rep. Beverly B. Byron, the congressional pay-raise issue never goes away. In her 6th District, which stretches from Western Maryland to Carroll County and dips down into Howard County, the question has two discomfiting parts."How could you vote yourself a $35,000 raise and then vote against increasing the minimum wage?"

Hours after an independent commission on Tuesday recommended a small pay raise for Maryland lawmakers, legislative leaders said in no uncertain terms that they're not interested. The General Assembly Compensation Commission suggested a one-time $2,000 salary bump in 2013 or 2014 if the state's unemployment rate drops to 5 percent or lower. It's now about 7 percent. Most lawmakers make $43,500 yearly; the House speaker and Senate president earn $56,500 each. Commission Chairman Sean W. Glynn said the recommendation reflects the commission's desire to be "sensitive" by balancing current issues, such as pay freezes for state workers, with the fact that they won't meet again until 2014.

Regarding its compensation, one can only assume that the Howard County Board of Education has adopted a strategy of asking for the stars in order to get the moon. How else could anyone reconcile this board's willingness to consider a pay raise for itself to $15,000 a year?Not only would that make Howard's school board members the highest paid in Maryland, it would more than double their current pay of $6,000, which is already higher than any school board in the Baltimore region. Besides, how many institutions, public or private, are handing out 150 percent raises?

The president of the Anne Arundel County school board says he still can't believe the principals union chose to file a lawsuit instead of negotiating differences over a longevity pay raise."

Maybe Superintendent Walter G. Amprey forgot the negotiating was over. According to Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke, the superintendent was blowing smoke when he wailed that programs in the schools would have to be cut to give teachers a 5 percent raise in their new contract.The mayor said yesterday city negotiators had placed a 4 percent increase on the bargaining table several months ago, with the understanding that the raise could go up to 5 percent if Education Alternatives Inc. agreed to a new contract that reduced its fee for running nine Tesseract schools.

In yesterday's warmish temperatures, the fur coat stayed home, or at least was not on mayoral display. So it conceivably could have looked even worse when Mayor Sheila Dixon set out to defend an increase in her own salary, even as she's ordering cutbacks in spending and services throughout the city. Appearances, as our famously well-attired mayor obviously knows, matter. But how on earth do you dress up a 2.5 pay increase for the mayor, the City Council and the comptroller at a time when throughout the city businesses are failing, people are losing their jobs and no one knows who or what is next to go?

Many elected officials in Howard County are set to accept pay raises this year, after rejecting or donating their automatic increases over several years in which other county employees saw their pay reduced by furloughs. County Executive Ken Ulman plans to keep his $3,600 raise, a spokesman said. County Council Chairman Calvin Ball said he planned to keep his $1,200 increase and figured that other lawmakers would do the same. "I think in previous years we have donated our pay back to stand in solidarity as we have had to make some tough decisions," Ball said.

Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold urged the County Council on Friday to reject Schools Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell's plan to give $5.5 million in pay raises to county teachers, saying it's untenable for teachers to get raises while most county employees get furloughed. The County Council approved $936.8 million in operating funds last month for the school system — $6.3 million less than it provided last year — and it did not include Maxwell's request for the pay increases, which a school system representative said are in accordance with a mediated labor settlement.

Legg Mason CEO and Chairman Mark R. Fetting received a 28 percent pay increase during the past fiscal year, the company reported Wednesday. Fetting's pay totaled $5.9 million for the year ending March 31, up from $4.6 million the previous fiscal year, according to regulatory filings. The Baltimore money manager posted a profit of $253.9 million during the fiscal year ending March 31, up 24 percent from the previous year. The company's stock rose 26 percent during that period, Legg's board noted in the filings.

Baltimore school administrators have ratified a new contract that union officials said would make city principals among the highest paid in the state and promote leaders through a new career and compensation ladder based on performance. The Public School Administrators and Supervisors Association ratified its contract after 150 members voted Friday to approve the deal, which includes a 2 percent retroactive pay raise and $1,800 stipend. The pact eliminates annual step increases — raises based on seniority and academic degrees — and implements a new career ladder.

Baltimore-based T. Rowe Price Group raised Chief Executive Officer James A.C. Kennedy's total compensation by nearly 51 percent to $7.1 million last year when the company posted record assets under management, net revenue and profit. Kennedy's base salary remained at $350,000, according to the company's proxy filed Friday. His cash bonus rose to $5 million, from $3.3 million in 2009. The value of Kennedy's stock options was $1.7 million, up from $1 million. Other compensation, which includes retirement contributions, matching gifts to charity and other benefits, totaled about $70,000.

Baltimore Teachers Union and school system leaders have officially signed the recently ratified teachers union contract, kicking into high gear months of planning and implementation of the landmark pact. The signing came after the city school board voted to unanimously in a special meeting Wednesday night to approve the contract, which overhauls the way teachers are compensated and promoted in the district. School and union officials will begin meeting immediately to appoint committees that will oversee the implementation of the contract, and plan to announce those appointments in January.

County Administrator Raquel Sanudo was shaking her head this week, wondering if it is true that no good deed goes unpunished.The county has changed the way it calculates raises for its employees, and Ms. Sanudo wanted to make sure everyone knew about it.She instructed the payroll office to put a note on the Aug. 5 paychecks reminding everyone of the change. "This pay includes a 3 percent cost of living adjustment since July 11," the note read.Instead of sharing excitement about receiving cost of living raises, employees felt cheated.

Baltimore Fire Chief James Clack will seek pay increases next week for his top commanders, arguing that he is struggling to attract and retain leaders. Clack said he is proposing a formula that would make pay for his eight deputy chiefs and one assistant chief 15 percent more than the pay of battalion chiefs, who are unionized. Because top commanders cannot earn overtime, some earn less than battalion chiefs, he said. When two deputy chief positions opened recently, there were no internal applicants, forcing Clack to hire civilians.