Legislative bills that would increase the Anne Arundel County sheriff’s salary by at least $20,000 have made it through both the state’s House and Senate and now will be considered by committees in their respective opposite chambers.
Sponsored by District 33A Del. Andrew Pruski, a Democrat, and a coalition of Anne Arundel County senators, House Bill 668 and Senate Bill 658 seek to increase the sheriff’s salary, while also placing the position on a pay scale equal to an Anne Arundel County Police captain’s salary.
The Senate bill, which passed on its third reading in mid-February, has been referred to the House Environment and Transportation Committee. The House version made it through its chamber earlier this month and has been referred to the Senate’s Judicial Proceedings Committee.
As of Tuesday, hearings have not been set in either committee.
The pay raise would not immediately benefit Anne Arundel Sheriff Everett Sesker, a former Prince George’s County Police major who was elected to the position over incumbent Jim Fredericks in 2022. Instead, under constitutional requirements, it would take effect after the 2026 election.
According to a fiscal note, the bill would set into motion an initial $20,100 raise in fiscal 2027. While the fiscal note references an annual raise of at least $34,400 in the years thereafter, Pruski said the salary raises after fiscal 2027 will be controlled indirectly by the Anne Arundel County Council in line with the captain role. As the captains receive a raise, so will the sheriff, the delegate explained.
Unlike smaller jurisdictions and counties, the Anne Arundel Sheriff’s Office is not responsible for most criminal investigations and police work in the county. It’s primarily responsible for providing security for the county’s Circuit Court and serving warrants.
Sesker currently earns $133,000 annually, according to public records, an amount District 33 Sen. Dawn Gile, a Democrat, said “is long outdated.” Pruski agreed, noting Anne Arundel’s population, which surpassed that of Baltimore city in the 2020 census, as well as the increase in responsibility that comes with that rise.
In a hearing in February before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, Sesker testified as to the unofficial duties of his office, describing calls he personally made to check in on someone’s snowed-in parents and an Annapolis woman in crisis. He also spoke of a time he changed someone’s tire on the side of Route 50. The driver did not live in Anne Arundel County.
“I look at myself as a servant of the state,” Sesker said. “Although I work here in Anne Arundel County, I represent the state of Maryland.”
Senate Bill 658 and House Bill 668 would make the sheriff’s salary equal to that of an Anne Arundel Police captain – $167,383, according to the fiscal note.
According to public records, Anne Arundel Police Chief Amal Awad, whose department oversees the majority of criminal cases throughout the county, will earn $244,306 in fiscal 2024.
If either bill is passed and the salary is placed onto a pay schedule, no other laws would have to go through the Maryland General Assembly to raise the sheriff’s salary.
In the present legislative session, several counties have submitted bills to the General Assembly hoping to adjust the salaries of their sheriffs: Baltimore County, Garrett and Carroll. Of those, Carroll is requesting the highest amount, increasing the sheriff’s salary by more than 50%, from $140,000 in 2023 to $212,309 in 2027. In that county, the sheriff is responsible for criminal investigations and police work.
Legislation also has been penned which would establish a work group to study the Frederick County sheriff’s salary.
The last time an adjustment was made by law to the Anne Arundel sheriff’s salary was in 2015.
