[StBernard] Raise for St. Bernard president proposed

[Westley Annis]

	Why, what happened?  I thought he just said da Parish is in dire
straits.  The economic outlook is terrible;  hmm. MsSimms

	> ----------------------------------------------------- 
	> Raise for St. Bernard president proposed 
	> St. Bernard voters would have to OK it Friday, May 16, 2008By Bob
Warren 
	> The St. Bernard Parish Council has taken the first steps to
possibly getting 
	> Parish President Craig Taffaro Jr. a pay raise. 
	> 
	> The council's Executive/Finance Committee on Wednesday heard a
pitch from 
	> Councilman Kenny Henderson to put the proposal before parish
voters in 
	> November. While a specific amount hasn't been hammered out,
Henderson said 
	> he thinks the position should command a salary of at least
$100,000 
	> annually. It currently pays $70,000. 
	> 
	> A vote of the council is needed to put the issue on the ballot.
The deadline 
	> for the council to get an item on the November ballot is July 25,
Hen derson 
	> said. 
	> 
	> Although any raise would likely affect Taffaro, who began his term
in 
	> January, Henderson said the proposal did not originate with
Taffaro. 
	> 
	> Henderson said it's "embarrassing" that Taffaro's salary is much
lower than 
	> other parish presidents. "This job is much more than a full-time
job," he 
	> said. 
	> 
	> Across the region, salaries for parish presidents range from
$123,318 in St. 
	> John the Baptist to $118,318 in Jefferson Parish and $87,140 in
St. Charles 
	> Parish. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin's salary is $125,095. 
	> 
	> Henderson and other committee members discussed averaging the
salaries of 
	> parishwide elected officials such as the sheriff, clerk of court
and 
	> assessor and tying the president's salary to that. Those positions
all pay 
	> about $98,000. 
	> 
	> Seventy thousand dollars "sounds like a lot, but when you consider
all > that's involved, it's not," Councilman Frank Auderer said of the
current 
	> salary. 
	> 
	> Taffaro said he will not take a position on the proposal, noting
that he ran 
	> for the office knowing that the salary was $70,000. "I won't push
for it; I 
	> won't push against it."