Amidst a dispute on the salaries of the employees of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, the Charles County Commissioners introduced legislation that would allow give the commissioners control over the pay. The legislation comes on the tails of a lawsuit filed by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).

As reported on Southern Maryland Newspapers Online:

When the commissioners approved a $354.5 million fiscal 2015 budget in June, they elected not to imitate the recently reconstructed pay scale for MSP officers for 2015, which cut salaries for some ranks, but granted a pay boost to others, nor did they fund a step increase for sheriff’s officers.

The FOP struck back, announcing publicly in late June they intended to file a lawsuit, as the commissioners had clearly violated their own code, [Bob] Kiesel [State Trustee for the local FOP] said.

Commissioners counter that while the legislation was pushed in part because of the lawsuit, it was still necessary and overdue.

Though the legislation is motivated by the looming lawsuit, [Commissioners’ President Candice Quinn] Kelly acknowledged, she said the measure was long overdue.

“It was necessary to clarify what the pay scale is,” she said. “Can you imagine trying to budget when you don’t know what the pay scale is? That was the purpose of the legislation. Obviously because of the pending [lawsuit] there was a certain interest in making sure you get everything in proper form.”

For more information read the full article on Southern Maryland Newspapers Online.