California, MD — The salary of the attorney for the St. May’s County Metropolitan Commission (MetCom) continues to be a lightning rod for commission members and the general public, particularly at budget time. The issue came up at the end of the March 31 commission meeting after member Mike Thompson (pictured, left) raised the issue of the need for annual contracts for exempt employees, or those who are not on a 40-hour work schedule.
Thompson said, “There seems to be an incongruity in some of the pay schedules.” He was told that the commission has 22 exempt employees, including department heads and others. Thompson said maybe the annual contracts should just cover the department heads.
Thompson noted that in most organizations the executive director is the highest paid employee, but that is not the case for MetCom Executive Director Scott Bundy, who has been on the job for about a half year. Bundy, according to statements by board members at the March 31 meeting, reportedly makes $15,000 less than the commission’s attorney and public information officer Jacquelyn Meiser. Although individual salaries are not released by MetCom, it is believed that Meiser makes more than $160,000.
Meiser was formerly the commission’s executive director but a bill was passed by the Maryland General Assembly prohibiting one person from serving as both counsel and executive director. Meiser chose to remain as attorney, and the extra responsibility of public information officer was added to her title. At that point Dan Ichniowski was hired as executive director. He has since retired and Bundy was hired to replace him.
Commission Vice Chairman Bob Russell said a simple fix to the salary disparity was to raise the executive director’s salary by $15,000. That brought a thumbs up from Bundy who later said he really wasn’t interested in a higher salary, that he had agreed to the amount he is being paid when he was hired.
Russell’s suggestion brought an angry retort from commission member Bryan “Puff” Barthelme, who said it was his responsibility to be a watchdog for the customers’ money.
In addition to her role at MetCom Meiser has an outside law practice. According to her website she also has a consulting firm called JVM Consulting which among other things does “Real Property & Land Use Consulting” and “Right-of-Way & Easement Acquisition.”
Her ability to have an outside practice has come under fire when contrasted to County Attorney George Sparling, who has an agreement to not have an outside practice and makes a lower salary that Meiser. The commission was told, however, that Sparling really isn’t prohibited from having an outside practice if the commissioners agree to it and there isn’t an ethics violation.
The commission was also told by MetCom staff that the salaries of the two attorneys aren’t comparable because the county pays for Sparling’s malpractice insurance and MetCom doesn’t for Meiser. When Barthelme asked what that cost the amount was it not available from the staff.
Russell said the move to treat exempt employee differently wasn’t necessary because they served at the pleasure of the commission anyway. When it was pointed out that exempt and non-exempt employees both get the cost-of-living and step increases, Russell noted that employees in the higher grades last year didn’t get step increases last year. Meiser had opted out of an increase.
Barthelme said that every year the disparity between Meiser and Bundy would remain if both received salary increases.
A decision was delayed after board member Mike Mummaugh said he wanted to take a closer look at how the county handled its employees, particularly department heads. Those department heads operate under an annual salary and can be released instead of the contract being renewed.
Board Chairman Steve Willing asked for a revisiting of the idea of a MetCom staff salary study. That study was originally in this year’s budget but was removed by the commission. Bundy said he would gather cost information for such a study.
Willing contended that a number of employees had left the commission over the last year because of salary considerations and for what he called insecurity on the job due to the attitude of some commission members during the last budget considerations. “I’ve been hearing it all the time on the street,” he said about the employee dissent.
But when Barthelme pressed for how many people had left in the last year that number was not available. Bundy said he would supply it. When commission member Alice Gaskin asked if he intended to contact those who had left, Barthelme said that was not his intent.
With the unresolved questions, Thompson’s original suggestion was delayed for a future meeting. The commission is holding a public hearing on its proposed operating and capital budgets on Thursday April 7 at 6 p.m. at the commission offices on Camden Way in California. That budget includes a cost-of-living and STEP increase for all employees and across-the-board rate increases for customers.
Contract Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com