Photo by Staff file photo Mayor Jeff Holtzinger
	SEARCHABLE DATABASE City of Frederick employee payroll database — — — Top 10 earners 1. Bryan Brown (retired), police captain — $144,763.15 2. Gerry Kolbfleisch, finance director — $117,082.81 3. James Ledwell, police captain — $116,418.53 4. Kim Dine, police chief — $113,166.84 5. Donald Frost, golf course manager/head golf pro — $112,090.27 6. Jon Angel (retired), budget director — $107,091.69 7. Kevin Grubb, police captain — $106,735.87 8. Stephen Tuel, police lieutenant — $105,591.82 9. Shawn Martyak, police lieutenant — $104,386.90 10. Mike Spurrier, director, Frederick Community Action Agency — $103,932 Source: City of Frederick fiscal 2008 (July 1, 2007-June 31, 2008) salary information

The fiscal 2010 general fund totals $80 million, a decrease of $3.1 million from the prior year, but overall personnel costs for the city's nearly 530 employees will rise 3 percent.

The total city budget for fiscal 2010 will reach $115.4 million. The sum includes other self-sustaining city funds like the airport, water and sewer operations and the Weinberg Center where property tax revenue does not directly fund operations. Last year's total budget was $117.6 million.

Personnel costs, which include overtime, insurance and retirement benefits, represent more than half of the total budget.

The increased personnel costs are due in part to a 10 percent increase in the city's insurance payments, an expense outside the city's budgetary control, said Budget Director Katie Barkdoll.

"All those fringe benefits have increased," she said. "While salaries overall have decreased."

Barkdoll said some of the increase can also be attributed to police department pay raises. The city's 145 sworn police officers, who are bound to a union contract negotiated every two years, will get a 2 percent cost-of-living adjustment set in last year's agreement. Some officers will also receive 4 percent step increases.

All other city employees will not be eligible for cost-of-living adjustments or merit raises.

Actual salaries in fiscal 2010 are budgeted at $30.1 million.

The jump in personnel costs also does not take into account the $1.8 million saved this year through an early retirement incentive program. However, continued savings from the early retirement program have been called into question by independent reviews of the buyout program in which 67 employees participated.

No freeze at the top

As most employees see their salaries stagnate over the next fiscal year, the mayor and Board of Aldermen will enjoy a raise.

Aldermen in January unanimously approved salary increases to be applied to the next elected mayor and board.

The mayor's salary will increase to $90,000 annually -- a 23 percent increase.

Aldermen will see their part-time salaries go up more than 85 percent from $13,500 to $25,000.

"If you have a $13,500 salary for the work involved ... you're just limiting the caliber of people that are willing and able to do it," said Alderman C. Paul Smith.

The $90,000 mayoral salary falls below the $148,000 Baltimore pays its full-time mayor, but above Annapolis, which pays $70,000 and Hagerstown, which pays $28,000.

In each of those cities, the mayor serves as chief executive or wields significant power. Baltimore and Frederick do not employ city managers.

Holtzinger, who is running for a second term, echoed the concern that keeping the pay low would limit people seeking the job of mayor.

"I don't think it's unreasonable," he said.

Salaries of every employee were studied two years ago by a firm hired to redevelop the city's pay scale.

The study compared Frederick 's salaries with those of nearby jurisdictions.

The report by Washington firm Hendrick and Associates found salaries of most employees trailed cities east of Frederick including Annapolis, Rockville and Gaithersburg but were more competitive with cities farther west like Hagerstown.

The study, which was adopted in the fiscal 2008 budget, created a flexible 18 grade pay scale based on a quantifiable set of criteria including education, job complexity, supervision, scope and impact.

The city spent $157,000, about 1 percent of the payroll, adjusting salaries.

Overtime challenges

The Frederick Police Department takes the largest share of city salaries and overtime costs.

The department in fiscal 2010 budgeted $11.67 million for salaries.

The sum represents a 7 percent decrease from the year before, but overtime costs will increase 17 percent to $854,109.

Capt. Kevin Grubb said the extra time an officer works is often mandatory.

"It's not a 9-to-5 job," he said. "Things happen at the end of a shift we have no control of."

Overtime costs for some large events like the Frederick Marathon are reimbursed by event organizers.

More than $79,000 of the overtime increase is funded by a grant, but the city will have to dole out an extra $45,000 for court time.

Officers who have to appear in court outside their regularly scheduled hours get paid three times their hourly rate.

Grubb said extra effort is taken to have officers appear during their normal working hours, but the court dockets are not tailored to an officer's schedule.

A bill in the Maryland General Assembly to keep court time down for officers failed to gain traction this year. The bill would have allowed people with traffic tickets to opt-in for a court appearance instead of one being automatically assigned.

More than 65 percent of the time city officers spend in court is for traffic offenses for which defendants are often absent, Grubb said.

He said agencies statewide were counting on the bill to pass to offset an anticipated increase in court time and costs.

The department was forced to budget for more court time because of a change in the way cases are handled. Officers are expected to spend even more of their off hours in court to facilitate a more in-depth discovery process for obtaining case information and evidence.

Alderwoman Marcia Hall said she's pushing the Frederick County legislative delegation to bring the bill back next session.

"There's no question it would produce a savings," she said.