There is a wide wage gap in Montgomery County.
Data from government watchdog website openthebooks.com reveals that Montgomery County Administrators and Department Heads are receiving some excellent direct compensation. This, at a time when the median income for working people in Montgomery County has stagnated to about $50,100, with household (joint) income coming in at around $115,000.
Further, it is important to note that real wages have declined 19 months in a row. The Dallas Federal Reserve posted in October of this year that:
Despite the stronger wage growth due to the tightness of the labor market, a majority of workers are finding their wages falling even further behind inflation. For workers who experienced a decline in their real wage in second quarter 2022, the median decline was 8.6 percent.
While the past 25 years have witnessed episodes that show either a greater incidence or larger magnitude of real wage declines, the current time period is unparalleled in terms of the challenge employed workers face.
Montgomery County’s Chief Administrative Officer, Rich Madaleno, took home $262,000 in 2021 per openthebooks.com’s database. He took home $250,000 in salary in 2020. At $262,000, his salary is 524% of what the median income worker makes in Montgomery County. Mr. Madaleno’s County government page notes that he “led” MoCo’s efforts against the “impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.” He is the “second highest-ranking executive branch position after the County Executive.”
It should be noted that Timothy Firestine, one of Madaleno’s predecessors in the position, took home a reported $317,531 in salary in 2018. That purchasing power would be the 2022 equivalent of about $376,000+ today.
Good work, if you can get it. Or know somebody who can get it for you.
Mr. Madaleno is currently compensated at about 70% of what this predecessor was making.
Interestingly, the County Executive, Marc Elrich, only received $209,621 in wages in 2021 (again, per openthebooks.com). This represents 418% of what the median worker takes home in Montgomery County. It represents about 300% of the median salary a county government employee is earning (data is from 2014).
This compensation does not include Mr. Elrich’s private car service, security or his chauffeur:
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich has a three-person security detail that rotates schedules. Each individual on that team doubles as Elrich’s bodyguard and chauffeur. The staffer drives Elrich around Montgomery County and the greater DMV in a black, extra-long SUV with tinted windows and shiny rims. The SUV is a “pursuit-rated vehicle” equipped for “security service.”
Following the D.C. sniper attacks of 2002, the county council approved the line item for then-County Executive Doug Duncan. The council has continued to support the expenditure every year since. A spokesman for Elrich noted that the 69-year-old politician’s detail is “consistent” with other local executive leaders in D.C. and Prince George’s County. Source: WJLA.com.
In 2021, again per openthebooks.com, Thomas Potter, a Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Captain, took home $343,202 in salary. This was the largest amount of all employees in the database.
The top six individuals and eight of the top ten Montgomery County government employees, sorted by total salary in 2021, are Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Captains.
Psychiatrist Dr. Gustavo Goldstein, at the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services was compensated $231,825 in 2021. Per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean wage across the profession in state government settings is $221,720.
Melanie Wenger, the County’s top Director in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, took home $222,000 in 2021.
The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs is a lobby shop that claims it “represents the County interests at the regional, state and federal levels.” It issued a Montgomery County ‘2022 Federal Priorities’ document this year full of buzzwords, and bizarre and ridiculous requests for tax dollars, also known as other people’s / region’s money.
One of them was: Family E-Cargo Bike Borrowing Program. Purchase fleet of electric-assist cargo bikes and implement pilot program to lend cargo bikes to County residents for a short-term trial. Goal to promote adoption of e-biking for young families who otherwise may shift from walking/biking/transit into personal auto travel because of logistics of transporting children. Collect data and feedback on usage. Make it possible to try these bikes and allow families to see firsthand if they can replace auto trips with biking, giving families the confidence to make the investment in cargo bikes (even if they still use personal auto as well). Total Project Cost: $500,000.
