Dorchester County Council members said Tuesday that improving employee pay and benefits will be their top priority as the county begins planning its fiscal 2027 budget, warning that low compensation levels are driving staffing losses across county government.
During a discussion of next year’s budget goals and priorities, council members and the county manager cited recent pay comparisons that placed Dorchester near the bottom of the state in multiple categories. Several council members said the county cannot maintain services without recruiting and retaining workers.
“Salaries are going to be the biggest thing we’ve got right now,” District 3 Council Member Ricky C. Travers said, noting that Dorchester is “one or two from the bottom” in statewide comparisons.
County leaders also tied the issue to broader uncertainty coming from Annapolis, saying the state’s projected deficit and commitments such as the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future could lead to cuts or cost shifts that fall on counties. Those unknowns could limit what Dorchester can do in the short term, but they emphasized that compensation must remain central to the county’s planning, they said.
Speaking remotely due to illness, Council President George L. “Lenny” Pfeffer Jr. said the county must prioritize its workforce before purchasing hardware. “We can buy the best dump trucks, we can buy the best equipment, but we have to take care of the people that we have working for us,” he said.
The Council referenced efforts to improve retirement benefits for certain employee groups, including work to place emergency medical services employees and corrections officers into better retirement systems, which they said should be part of a broader push to strengthen compensation and support the workforce.
County Manager Jerry Jones informed the Council that the 2026 second-quarter budget review and departmental submissions for next year will begin Thursday, and asked members to outline their vision for goals and priorities before the county moves into the most intensive phase of budget discussions.
Council members also highlighted infrastructure and drainage as key priorities, reflecting persistent concerns about flooding and long-term maintenance needs. Still, the county should remain proactive and not abandon its long-term goals despite the challenges, members said, citing continued development of parks and the county airport, as well as broader infrastructure improvements.
“We are asking you to punch above our weight,” Council Vice President Michael W. Detmer (District 5) said, telling staff that the Council is working to find ways to make that effort “worth your while more appropriately.”
Jones also announced the county is working on a public-facing budget book intended to help residents better understand the county’s finances and how spending changes from year to year. Staff are developing the format and beginning to populate it, to build on it in future budget cycles, so the public can more easily track what the county is “cooking within our budget world from a year-to-year basis,” he said.
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