The Annapolis City Council approved a resolution Monday that accepts a committee’s suggestion to increase the salaries of the mayor, City Council members and the city manager.

The vote does not change any salaries; it merely accepts a report made by the Salary Review Commission, made up of six appointed Annapolis residents.

The commission unanimously agreed that salaries for the mayor, council members and the city manager are inadequate compared to similar nearby jurisdictions.

“This does not change anyone’s compensation,” Alderman Harry Huntley, a Democrat representing Ward 1, said. “It accepts what we can all read in the report, and I’ve been perfectly clear on my position on increasing compensation for the alderpersons. This doesn’t change that, it allows us to say, ‘Yes, this is what was in the report.’”

Huntley is opposed to the increase for himself and said he would prefer the money be used to hire support staff or for community outreach. However, he voted to introduce the resolution last month and voted Monday to approve the resolution.

The Salary Review commission was created in November to look at data from 13 neighboring jurisdictions in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia. Each council member, the mayor and the city manager were interviewed.

The measure, which the council introduced last month, was accepted Monday.

“I’m going to vote for it, and I’ll vote for it [again] in the budget,” Alderman DaJuan Gay, a Democrat representing Ward 6, said.

The report said capable leaders might be deterred from serving on the council due to low compensation.

The mayor currently makes $98,000 annually while council members are paid about $18,500 plus an expense allowance. City Manager Michael Mallinoff was one of the three highest paid city employees last fiscal year, alongside Police Chief Edward Jackson and Fire Chief Douglas Remaley.

The report suggested the next city manager, who will be appointed by the next mayor and confirmed by the council, be paid an annual salary between $250,000 and $294,000. The mayor would be paid $120,000 and council members $32,000 with a $2,000 increase each year.

Rhonda Pindell Charles, a Democrat from Ward 3 and a 2025 mayoral candidate, abstained from Monday’s vote. The remainder of the council voted in favor.

“I’m sure you’ll all agree it will be disrespectful not to vote, with all the hard work the committee put into this,” Mayor Gavin Buckley said before the votes were tallied.

Pindell Charles has said that, if elected, during her first two years as mayor she would accept the alderwoman’s salary plus $1 and donate the remainder to city initiatives.

The council must pass measures involving their own salaries at least three months before the November election. Any increases have to be incorporated into the fiscal 2026 city budget which has a June 30 deadline.

Increases would not go into effect until the next council is sworn in.

“We have worked diligently in the brief time provided to develop the findings and recommendations contained in this report, which we hope will be adopted by the City Council,” the Salary Review Commission wrote in its report. “We believe our recommendations are both fiscally responsible and sufficient to ensure our City attracts the best persons available to serve and lead Annapolis in future years.”

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