Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy argued a case on her own behalf yesterday, saying the $20,000 raise the city planned to give her wasn't big enough.

The verdict: The city cut the raise to $15,000.

Jessamy appeared before the Board of Estimates to plead that her $115,000-a-year salary be boosted to $140,000, plus a 3 percent annual raise for the next three years.

Before the meeting, Mayor Martin O'Malley, who controls the board and often has been at odds with Jessamy, supported increasing her salary to $135,000, plus 3 percent annual raises.

But Jessamy saw that figure dwindle to $130,000 before the brief closed-door session was through. "It's not unexpected for our office to get the short end of the stick," Jessamy's spokeswoman Margaret T. Burns said afterward. "It's just another indication of the lack of respect that the office receives."

Board members called the raise fair and said with a 3 percent annual adjustment, Jessamy's salary would top $140,000 before her term was up. "That's a very good salary," Council President Sheila Dixon said.

Jessamy's appearance before board members was closed on the grounds that they were discussing a personnel matter. Participants said Dixon took the lead in questioning Jessamy. O'Malley said little.

Afterward, O'Malley said he had decided to "defer to the will of my colleagues" in supporting the smaller raise.

The mayor has occasionally had biting things to say about Jessamy's office and its performance. Yesterday, he couldn't resist another jab. "Part of me would like to see [her salary] go up to $250,000," O'Malley said.

Jessamy argued in the meeting that the bigger raise was necessary to bring her earnings in line with those of other top city officials, and with other state's attorneys around Maryland, participants said. She said her salary was second-lowest among state's attorneys in Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties, though her office handles more prosecutions.

But board members countered that at $130,000, Jessamy's salary would jump to second-highest among those counties, behind the Baltimore County state's attorney, who makes $159,600. The average salary for the other state's attorneys is $129,920, they noted.

Jessamy argued that giving her a more sizable raise would be a first step toward raising salaries for her prosecutors, who she said earn 26 percent less than lawyers who work for the attorney general or the public defender's office. The relatively low salaries make it hard to retain talent, she said.

The board voted to reclassify two deputy state's attorney's positions, raising top salaries. Members said they would be willing to review other salaries.