About 2,100 state employees will each take home $125,000 or more in salary this year, with nearly all of the top earners working for the University System of Maryland.
The men's basketball coach, athletic director and football coach at the University of Maryland, College Park all rank high on the list, but the top spots for base pay all go to researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Men's basketball coach Gary Williams earns about $1.6 million a year, which includes radio and TV appearances, sponsorship deals, bonuses and incentives; and football coach Ralph Friedgen was last reported to be guaranteed at least $1.5 million. However, the coaches' base salaries of $356,527 and $232,511 a year, respectively, are dwarfed by those of the state's top doctors.
Nineteen of the top 20 earners in the state are physicians in the medical system, with the highest pay going to Stephen T. Bartlett, the chairman of the department of surgery ($752,481). The non-physician among the top earners is William E. Kirwan, the chancellor of the University System of Maryland ($410,900).
The top earners at the medical center, which is a private, nonprofit hospital, show up on the state salary list because they also hold appointments at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. In addition to their duties for the school, they generate research grants and patient fees.
"Salaries for faculty and administrators at the University of Maryland, Baltimore are different from other campuses, because so much of the money comes from their own grants and not from taxpayer money," said Ed Fishel, a spokesman for UMB. "Plus, they see patients, and a sizable part of their salary comes from their patients."
In all, more than 1,600 state employees who make more than $125,000 work for the university system.
John Buettner, spokesman for the University System of Maryland, said that figure does not tell the entire story.
"When it comes to the University System of Maryland, oftentimes our salaries are a hybrid," he said. "While we are a partially state-funded institution of higher education, many of our salaries, such as coaches, researchers and professors, are not fully funded by state appropriations."
The highest-paid employees in general government are also physicians: Chief Medical Examiner David R. Fowler ($218,819); Sharon Baucom, medical director for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services ($203,693); and Michelle A. Gourdine, deputy secretary for public health services in the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ($198,808). Both Baucom and Gourdine earn more than the Cabinet secretaries they report to.
Top salaries in Gov. Martin O'Malley's office go to his chief of staff, Michael Enright, and his chief lobbyist, Joseph C. Bryce, who, like O'Malley, will each make $150,000 this year. Deputy chiefs of staff Peggy Watson and Matthew Gallagher both receive $145,000. Several Cabinet secretaries earn even higher salaries.
Three members of Comptroller Peter Franchot's staff make as much as O'Malley's top aides. Deputy comptrollers Len N. Foxwell, David S. Weaver and Linda Tanton all make $148,245. Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler's top aides make less: $137,705 apiece for John B. Howard Jr. and Katherine Winfree. Franchot, Gansler and Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown each make $125,000 a year.
Gansler said recruiting for the attorney general's office is a particular challenge.
"A 25-year-old first-year associate, fresh out of law school with no experience whatsoever, is now making a starting salary in Baltimore of $165,000," Gansler said. "I make $125,000, and nearly all the lawyers in the office make less. Given we have lawyers with decades of experience, the opportunity costs are tremendous. There's not a lawyer here who could not make exponentially more" in the private sector.
andy.green@baltsun.com
Sun reporter Kelly Brewington contributed to this article.