The police chief was the Baltimore County government’s highest-paid employee in 2024, according to compensation data analyzed by The Baltimore Sun.

Chief of Police Robert McCullough earned $285,900 in gross pay last year, within a couple of hundred dollars of his annual salary, according to payroll data obtained through a public information request. Behind him were a lieutenant and captain within the police department. Overall, the county paid over $680 million to 9,129 employees, up 7% over 2023.

McCullough was nominated for the position in April 2023 by then-County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. He was sworn in shortly after, becoming the county’s first Black police chief.

McCullough, a 37-year veteran, rejoined the department following his retirement in 2021 as a colonel and operations bureau chief. Upon selecting him, Olszewski hailed McCullough as an experienced, homegrown leader.

County Executive Kathy Klausmeier, who was appointed by the County Council in January to serve the final two years of Olszewski’s term after he became a U.S. congressman, emailed a statement through her office that praised McCullough as a barrier breaker and looked forward to supporting him “for years to come.” Klausmeier is not expected to seek election next year, as the council asked all applicants for the open position to commit not to run.

McCullough’s gross pay ranks him as the second-highest-paid police leader among the Baltimore area’s six jurisdictions, behind Baltimore City Police Commissioner Richard Worley. Worley made $320,393 in gross pay during the fiscal year that ended in June 2024, which is the most recent data available from the city. The Baltimore City and Baltimore County departments, respectively, have the area’s largest and second-largest budgets.

Despite having the city’s highest salary, Worley was outearned by a police sergeant and paramedic whose pay were boosted by overtime and other sources.

After McCullough, Lt. David J. Sweren and Capt. Eliot M. Latchaw, rounding out Baltimore County’s 10 highest-paid employees were five other police supervisors, County Attorney James R. Benjamin and County Administrative Officer D’andrea L. Walker. All received more than $250,000 in gross pay.

Six of the police employees in the top 10 were placed there by earnings beyond their salary. Sweren’s additional earnings included more than $5,600 in overtime and Lt. Jeffrey S. Peach’s included over $39,000 in overtime. Latchaw, Maj. Jan Brown and Lt. Mark F. Horvath each received retirement payouts, a police spokesperson said.

One of the 25 largest police agencies in the country, the county police department has combined earnings that eclipse $240 million, followed by the county fire department, whose employees earned more than $114 million. Together, the two public safety agencies account for more than half of Baltimore County’s payroll.

The $8.1 million that police spent on overtime was the most of any department, representing 3.4% of all police pay, compared with 2.7% in 2023. The Department of Corrections paid the next most, at $5.6 million, or 4.9% of its payroll, which was the highest share of any department. A police department spokesperson said overtime is regularly offered to make sure that every shift is adequately staffed.

Shortly before McCullough became police chief two years ago, the department had 212 vacancies in General Fund sworn positions, according to a budget analysis by the county auditor, and McCullough said that filling them would be an early priority.

Currently, 223 sworn positions are vacant, according to the police department. While vacancies in sworn positions have increased, the number of positions available has as well. For the fiscal year that starts July 1, the department anticipates having 1,960 General Fund sworn positions, 17 more than it did at the start of 2023.

Before McCullough took office, the department’s employment sector analyzed the recruitment process and developed a new community-centered model, according to the department. The model includes hiring additional background investigators, expanding academy classes and increasing advertisements to match the need for filling vacancies. The department said that applications were trending up compared with last year over the first two months of the year.

Amid a challenging fiscal climate, Baltimore County employees could see a salary increase during fiscal year 2026, according to a $4.6 billion budget proposal outlined by Klausmeier this month. Within it, a 3% midyear cost-of-living adjustment would be given to police and fire personnel, compared with a 2% midyear cost-of-living increase for other county employees.

Have a news tip? Contact Shaela Foster at sfoster@baltsun.com.