Sgt. Christopher Henize of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office was the county’s highest paid employee in 2024, grossing $246,740, according to payroll data from the county obtained through a public information request.

The county has 2,188 employees. Data shows that 452 employees made more than $100,000 last year, 109 grossed more than $150,000, and 12 grossed more than $200,000.

Henize was hired in June 2012 and earned a base salary of $124,311.20 with $122,428.85 in overtime pay last year — nearly $30,000 more than he earned in 2023 when he was the second-highest paid employee in the county.

Henize earned $26,645 more than the county’s 2023 top earner, Lt. Christopher Parish, who grossed $220,094.43 in 2023 through a base salary of $149,840 and overtime pay of $70,254.43.

The county’s 20 highest paid employees of 2024 were all worked for the sheriff’s office and grossed a total of $4.1 million. Eighteen of the top 20 earned overtime pay with three earning more than $100,000 in overtime, seven earning more than $50,000 in overtime, and the rest earning between $3,000 and $47,000 in overtime.

The majority of the sheriff’s office overtime is “reimbursable,” meaning that it is paid by private entities. Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said entities such as churches and businesses enter contracts with the sheriff’s office for things like event security and traffic.

“If it is overtime for the sheriff’s office for something like a call running past shift change, then it needs to be pre-approved by a supervisor with a reason for the expenditure,” Gahler said. “If it’s reimbursable overtime, then the deputies can just sign up for it as their free time permits.”

In 2023, the sheriff’s office paid $9.43 million in overtime. Last year, that number increased to $9.83 million.

Gahler noted there is a growing need for additional police due to county growth but said the amount of overtime paid out each year is not an indicator of a struggling police force. He said the sheriff’s office has 12 vacancies, which has a small impact on overtime pay. But should the sheriff’s office face challenges with retention, the number of vacancies may go up which could increase overtime pay.

“It comes as no surprise to me that our people are the very top because policing has gotten very expensive,” Gahler said. “This is a direct result of Annapolis and police reform because it has driven down interest, which has resulted in the market going up considerably because everyone is competing to offer the best salaries.”

In 2023 and in 2024, Gahler’s compensation remained at $202,198 making him the ninth highest paid county employee in 2023, the 12th highest paid in 2024 and the highest paid elected official in Harford County.

Harford County State’s Attorney Allison Healy is the second-highest paid elected official and the 21st highest paid employee in the county. Healy made a base salary of $186,036 in 2024 and ranked 25th in 2023 when she made $172,291.

County Executive Bob Cassilly was the 49th highest paid employee in Harford County in 2024, with an annual salary of $168,255. In 2023, Cassilly was the 53rd highest paid employee and grossed $160,345.

Compensation for the county executive, per the county charter, is linked to the annual change in the consumer price index as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Outside of sheriff’s deputies and elected officials, the highest paid department director last year was the director of Public Works, Joseph Siemek, who ranked 22nd in the county with an annual compensation of $184,650.44.

Siemek was also the highest paid director in 2023 with an average compensation of $179,296.54 — making him the 17th highest paid employee in the county.

The department in the county government that paid out the most in salaries last year was Public Works, with gross base salaries of $27.58 million and $1.98 million in overtime for a total of $29.56 million in compensation.

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