Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy is appealing to her political nemesis for a hefty raise.
The administration of Mayor Martin O'Malley supports a salary increase for Jessamy, but it's not as much as she wants.
O'Malley is willing to boost her pay from the current $115,000 a year to $135,000, plus a 3 percent annual raise for the next three years.
But Jessamy wants a bigger raise. She initially asked for $160,000 a year and now says she'll settle for $140,000, plus 3 percent annual raises.
The state's attorney's office is funded by a combination of city, state and grant money. But the top prosecutor's salary is set by the Board of Estimates, which is controlled by the mayor and will discuss the matter today. O'Malley has been critical of the criminal justice system since he took office in 1999, leading to repeated and sometimes personal clashes with Jessamy.
Jessamy says the increase is necessary to bring her salary in line with those of other top city officials, and with state's attorneys in other large jurisdictions around the state.
"I'm a very hard-working public servant and I do an outstanding job for the citizens of the city," Jessamy said yesterday. "It's not about the money. It's the principle. We want the state's attorney's office to be respected for the hard work that we do."
Jessamy's office surveyed the salaries of state's attorneys in Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties and found her earnings were second-lowest, even though her office handles the most prosecutions.
The $135,000 salary the mayor supports, however, would make her earnings second-highest among those counties, behind the Baltimore County state's attorney, who makes $159,600. It also would put Jessamy ahead of many top city officials. O'Malley earns $125,000 a year; his police commissioner, Edward T. Norris, $137,000; his fire chief, William J. Goodwin Jr., $115,500.
But Jessamy notes that some city officials make more. O'Malley's new chief of staff, Clarence T. Bishop, earns $140,000 a year.
Under the state constitution, Jessamy's salary must be decided before she is sworn in on Jan. 3.