(WBFF) — Amid revenue shortfalls, Maryland Department of Transportation officials continued their tour around the state Monday, meeting with leaders from Baltimore City and Baltimore County, discussing proposed budget cuts.
In Baltimore City, numerous state leaders representing Baltimore, as well as City leaders, addressed the MDOT executives, including Secretary Paul Wiedefeld, pleading to provide additional funding for major projects and transit needs.
“We should not be balancing on the backs of Baltimoreans who rely on transit,” Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott said.
“This budget is making a big statement, that our young people, that our families don’t matter and I know the Governor does not want to make that statement,” Baltimore City Council member Odette Ramos added.
In MDOT’s Draft Consolidated Transportation Program for Fiscal Years 2025 to 2030, which outlines an $18.9 billion spending plan, there’s about $1.3 billion in cuts, which will result in deferred projects. While projects will be delayed across the state, in Baltimore, that could mean major impacts to the North-South Corridor project as well as the Red Line project.
“There is no chance with this plan the Red Line construction begins any sooner than 2031,” Baltimore City Council member Ryan Dorsey said. “In the best case scenario, that’s the last year of Governor Moore’s administration. That’s an unacceptably late timeline for any level of visible progress on that project.”
“We’ve had some major issues with our trust fund, structural issues,” Wiedefeld said. ” We’ve been under tremendous pressure with inflation, with the money we got from the Federal Government after COVID that is now gone, and now you are seeing the results of that.”
At the same time Wiedefeld is focused on producing a balanced budget, several MDOT executives received salary increases over the summer, larger than the annual cost of living adjustment.
For instance, Executive Pay Plan documents Motor Vehicle Administrator Christine Nizer’s salary increased more than $100,000, going from $201,997 to $305,373. Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld saw a salary increase of roughly $12,000. His salary went from $255,000 to $267,903, or a 5.06% increase.
“This is a multi-billion dollar business and we’ve got to make sure that we have the talent to manage it,” Wiedefeld said.
“But when we looked around what other people are making at those same positions, they are making much more and we can’t afford to lose these people that deliver these projects,” Wiedefeld added.
Based on data from other states, executives with comparable positions in several other states and jurisdictions like Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey and Washington D.C. make less than in Maryland. In fact, in other states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Virginia, the transportation executives are not making close to $300,000.
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“We had an independent group look at that,” Wiedefeld said. “Remember we also have six modes. So four of them now are all paid the same.”
Wiedefeld said they tried to equalize salaries of some of the executive positions to not only retain employees, but to boost morale. Based on the executive pay plan, based on the executive pay plan, while Nizer’s salary increase was by far the largest, six other executives make either the same or more than Nizer, with salaries ranging from $305,000 to $437,000.
“It was obviously a management decision,” Wiedefeld said. “I understand the big picture of that, but in the scheme of things, we’ve got to make sure we have the talent to deliver the projects that we have to deliver.”
