When it comes time to make the case for why thousands of state employees deserve the 2 percent raise being proposed by departing Gov. Parris N. Glendening in the midst of a budget crisis, places such as the Frederick County public safety building stand out.

State police dispatchers work side by side in the new complex with local 911 operators, doing pretty much the same job. The state workers' salaries start at $23,000-a-year, while the county workers' starting salaries are about $29,000.

It's common knowledge that many private sector jobs pay better than public sector positions. But union activists and their supporters in the Glendening administration say employees of local governments often make more than state employees doing comparable jobs. It's a disparity they say has people leaving state jobs in search of better compensation -- and smaller workloads.

"Generally, on the average, state employee salaries are between 10 and 20 percent lower than the larger counties and 20 percent lower than the private sector and federal government," said Sue Esty, legislative director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 92, which represents 35,000 state employees.

"People will begin their employment with the state of Maryland to build a resume, and as soon as they can, they go elsewhere," she said. "That makes the state a revolving door."

Under Glendening, state employees have received raises nearly every year (though they are not in line for raises this year). Still, they lag behind, as county governments have continued to increase pay. Glendening has also tried to help the interests of state workers by pushing collective bargaining legislation through the General Assembly.

"I know [Glendening] is frustrated by the fact that ... county employees are getting pay raises while the state workers are doing without," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller.

For example, the staring salary for data entry clerks in Montgomery County is about $24,000 a year; state data entry clerks in nearby offices start at about $20,000. Detention officers' salaries in Anne Arundel County start at a little more than $29,000; state corrections officers make about $27,000 starting out.

That's not to say the pay of all groups of state employees has continued to stagnate during Glendening's two terms.

Under Glendening's predecessor, former Gov. William Donald Schaefer, state troopers didn't get a raise for eight years, said Lt. Nick Paros, president of the Maryland Troopers Association. They ranked 32nd in pay among the state's 33 law enforcement agencies.

Now, through consistent raises since 1994, they are in the top 10 in salary. One year, because they missed an earlier pay increase, they received 10 percent raises, Paros said.

But their dispatchers are another story. Take Rebecca Wimmer, a dispatch supervisor in Westminster and president of the union representing those who take and route calls for the Maryland State Police.

There should be two dispatchers working every eight-hour shift, 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the Carroll County barracks. Wimmer has a total of five on staff, making that impossible. It's hard to hire people -- and hard to keep them on the job.

"A lot of people don't even stay a year," she said. "We train them, and they leave and start making more money and doing less work."

While some comparisons show that state workers in large counties are paid less than their local government counterparts, even Glendening administration officials concede it is not the case across the board. "It varies greatly, as best as I can tell," said Glendening spokesman Chuck Porcari.

One key to the disparity is the state's "one-size-fits-all" pay scale. State clerks in Montgomery County, where the cost of living is high, earn the same as state clerks in Garrett County, where the cost of living is much lower.

Another is the lobby for state workers. Local legislative delegations often work hardest to bring money back to their county governments -- money that is then often used to boost salaries, Paros said. Also, he said, it's easier to convince a county executive and seven council members of the need for a raise than the General Assembly.

"We have to go to [141] legislators and convince them this is a good idea," he said.

Timothy F. Maloney, a former Democratic delegate from Prince George's County, said the state needs to take into account geographic diversity when it determines how much its employees are paid. Some of the state salaries, for example, are barely above the poverty line in the Washington suburbs, but are acceptable wages in rural areas.

"The great worry is the state government is the poor step-child in its own government and that's been true for many years," said Maloney, who practices law in Greenbelt. "The bottom line on this is there needs to be balance and there needs to be some accountability for economic disparity."

David S. Bliden, executive director of the Maryland Association of Counties, said the issue isn't that simple. Two-thirds of local jurisdictions raised taxes last year, using some of that money to provide pay increases for their employees, he said. The state would have more money for salary raises, he said, if it hadn't cut taxes to the tune of $800 million.

"During the past cycle, counties have been treating their employees fairly and have been giving them raises," he said. "County governments have bit the bullet."

Meanwhile, county officials point to state salary information showing that, on average, county employees actually earn less overall. But the averages do not take into account the disparity in comparable, low-paying jobs and instead reflect the larger number of highly paid employees at the state level.

"Overall, the disparities are not as significant as Tim suggests," Bliden said.

Sun staff writer Sarah Koenig contributed to this article.