A Parting Gift: Annapolis Council Approves 18–58% Pay Hikes for the People Replacing Them

FACTS FIRST:
On November 18, 2025, at one of its final meetings, the outgoing Annapolis City Council voted to increase the mayor’s salary from $98,000 to $120,000 (+22.4%) and to raise alderpersons’ pay from $18,500 to $29,265 effective December 1 — a jump of 58% over four years, eventually stepping to $32,000.
These changes take effect the day the newly elected council is sworn in.
The item appeared late in the agenda, was approved with minimal discussion, and received no public testimony.

In the final weeks before leaving office, the outgoing council did something perfectly legal — and politically radioactive: locked in double-digit raises for their successors, timed to take effect the moment they themselves leave the chamber.

In a year marked by tax hikes, new stormwater fees, and warnings about budget tightening, the optics could not be worse — and they were entirely avoidable.

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A Structural Problem, Not a Personal One — But Still a Problem

This isn’t bribery, and it isn’t a scandal in the traditional sense.
It is, however, a long-standing structural flaw in Annapolis governance:

Outgoing officials set salary policy for incoming officials — safely after the election, safely before they leave.

This design produces the same outcome every cycle:

1. Salary decisions happen after voters cast ballots.
2. The raises benefit people not yet in office and cost nothing politically for those approving them.
3. Public scrutiny is minimized because the recipients aren’t seated yet and the deciders are walking out the door.

It’s a time-honored tradition — and one that erodes public trust every single time it’s used.

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The Financial Contrast That Stings

The mayor’s raise (+22.4%) is significant.
The alderpersons’ raise (+58% over four years) is staggering by any municipal standard.

To be fair, Annapolis alderperson pay has long been among the lowest in Maryland for a part-time council — but that’s an argument for open debate, not a last-minute vote with no notice.

Meanwhile, during the same period residents faced:

• Property tax increases
• A new stormwater fee
• Higher assessments, utilities, and insurance
• City employees navigating hiring freezes and constrained departmental budgets

Yet the budget still had room for double-digit elected-official raises passed without public process.

This isn’t about whether elected officials deserve fair pay.
It’s about timing, transparency, and basic respect for the people paying the bills.

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A Smarter, Cleaner Option for the New Council

The incoming council didn’t request these raises, but they inherit the consequences.

There is a credible, simple off-ramp:

Place the Council Under the Same Independent Compensation Commission That Sets Pay for City Employees

This reform has been discussed for years — and several council candidates explicitly supported it during their campaigns.

Adopting it would mean:

• Salary reviews by a neutral, data-driven commission
• Transparent public hearings
• Clear justification tied to cost-of-living and workload
• No more end-of-term surprise raises
• No more awkward timing games

Most importantly, it would align elected officials with the same process used for the city workforce — and rebuild trust with residents who feel sidelined from decisions that affect their wallets.

Passing this reform at the first meeting of the new term would be a bold, confidence-building signal.

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The Tradition Can End — If the New Council Chooses to End It

Annapolis repeats this ritual every four years: outgoing politicians setting compensation for incoming ones, out of view, out of season, and out of sync with public expectations.

The outgoing council has played its part in that tradition.
The incoming one doesn’t have to.

They can let the raises take effect quietly — or they can seize this moment, choose open-door governance, and commit themselves to the same standards imposed on the rest of the city workforce.

The raises may already be on the books.
But public trust is not.

And whether this new council earns it will depend on what they do in their very first weeks in office.

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