Surrounded by dozens of law enforcement officers from the county's three municipalities, Bel Air Town Commissioner Terry Hanley made a plea to the County Council for equal pay for the officers.

Town officers, who often support their county and state counterparts in police work throughout Harford, make 15 percent to 42 percent less than sheriff's deputies and Maryland State Police while doing the same job and undergoing the same training, Hanley said.

The county relies on a 30-year-old financial formula to help fund the municipal police departments, which include Aberdeen, Bel Air and Havre de Grace.

Hanley quoted a nine-year-old study that indicated that town police departments were underfunded by as much as 50 percent and insisted that the formula must be modified to meet today's standards.

"Growth has more than doubled in the last 30 years and BRAC is on the way," Hanley said, referring to the nationwide military base expansion that could bring 30,000 more residents to the county in the next three years. "Bel Air has eight schools and 60,000 people in town during the course of a day. Our officers made 500 arrests last year and much of that crime came from the outskirts."

County Councilman James V. McMahan, whose district includes the town of Bel Air, said last week that he has been working with the county executive and the municipal police departments to increase the allocated funds and raise salaries and benefits, particularly pensions.

The county allowed for an additional $400,000 this year, a 20 percent increase in its contribution to local police departments, he said.

Officials are also considering increased retirement benefits and looking at the possibility of enrolling the towns' officers in the state retirement system for police.

mary.gail.hare@baltsun.com