In late 2018, Menges initially requested that the Howard County council increase the salaries of his court reporter and three assistant court reporters, bringing them in line with the employees of the other courts. The requested raises amounted to an increase of $17,729.99. The Superior I employees’ salaries were lower than those of the other courts because Menges was the only local judge presiding over the area’s five courts to have not trimmed staff and taken part in the county’s attrition policy, which redistributes portions of cut positions’ salaries to the remaining employees in the form of raises.
At the time, members of the council denied Menges’ request, claiming that allowing him to shirk the attrition policy would undo the system, which has created an annualized savings of more than $1 million since its inception. Menges, however, argued that his employees’ lower pay hurt morale, and the.....MORE
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