BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Two years ago, Harford County’s teachers got raises to make their pay more competitive. Last year, the sheriff’s deputies got theirs. Tuesday night, hundreds of other county employees turned out to say it’s their turn.

“It’s very demoralizing to give up raises so other government entities can receive them,” said Denise Lynch, an administrative specialist in the Department of Planning and Zoning.

All but a handful of the 50 speakers at Tuesday’s public hearing on the 2009 budget were county employees asking the County Council to pass the 9 percent raise proposed by County Executive David Craig.

Craig has called the budget part of an effort to close a 4.8 percent gap between the average county salary and the “market average” — drawn from salaries in counties including Carroll, Frederick and Baltimore.

“We may not be as visible as the teachers or the Sheriff’s Office, but we are just as important, just as essential,” said Nelson Allen, a Forest Hill resident and engineering associate in the Department of Public Works.

About 200 people filled North Harford High School’s auditorium and cheered every speaker asking the council for the raise.

For their part, council members said it’d be hard to find money for the raises in tough economic times, which have prompted the county to pass on more of health care costs to employees. Some employees said low salaries made it difficult to raise a family and pay the bills.

And heads of county agencies said Harford was not attracting strong job applicants or had lost experienced employees to other counties and private companies that offer better pay.

“In an effort to recruit, I’ve asked people I know in the construction and excavation business if they’d like to work for the county,” said Highways Bureau Chief Linda Rickey. “The answer always is, ‘I can’t afford to take the pay cut.’ ”

The proposed raise would include a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment, 3 percent step increase for eligible employees based, and a 3 percent “market adjustment” to bring Harford’s salaries more in line with the other municipalities.

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com