[StBernard] Should St. Bernard Parish Council salaries double?

[Westley Annis]

Should St. Bernard Parish Council salaries double?
Print Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Benjamin
Alexander-Bloch, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
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on September 03, 2014 at 5:38 PM

The proposal would increase the salaries of district council members from
$7,200 a year to $15,000 a year. That's a 108 percent increase.

Councilman Casey Hunnicutt, who is leading the charge for the salary hike,
has said the proposed increase is almost entirely in line with inflation
since the current council salaries were approved in 1988. They went into
effect in 1992. There have been no salary increases since.

Hunnicutt has said that the additional $60,600 a year needed to fund the
proposed salary increase for the seven council members could be paid for
completely out of the council's current budget.

Proposed St. Bernard Council salary changes
 	Current monthy	Current yearly	Proposed monthly	Proposed
yearly	% increase
District	$600.00	$7,200.00	$1,250.00	$15,000	108%
At-Large	$600.00	$7,200.00	$1,450.00	$17,400	142%
Chair	$700.00	$8,400.00	$1,650.00	$19,800	136%
St. Bernard Parish Council
The proposed new St. Bernard council salaries would be about on par with
other part-time council positions for similarly-sized metro New Orleans
communities, Hunnicutt said, pointing to data he recently compiled. 

Inflation-adjusted St. Bernard Council salaries
 	1988*	2014	2014 annual	% increase
District	$600.00	$1,208.37	$14,500.44	101%
At-Large	$600.00	$1,208.37	$14,500.44	101%
Chair	$700.00	$1,409.76	$16,917.12	101%
*Year current salaries were approved. They went into effect in 1992. 

Council calculated using the BLS CPI Inflation Calculator - U.S. Dept. of
Labor.

Hunnicutt said on Tuesday the council salary increases are needed "to
recruit a larger number of qualified candidates to fill these position in
the long term."

He added that time commitment of the positions are not commensurate with
their current salaries and that the current salaries are "economically
discriminatory" in that they make it more difficult for St. Bernard
residents with lower incomes - even medium parish incomes - to serve
"because the time commitment would not allow you to take off work as much as
you need to and still afford to live."

Metro New Orleans salaries for part-time council members 
Locality	District salary	 	At-Large salary	 
 	Monthly	Yearly	Monthly	Yearly
 	 	 	 	 
Plaquemines Parish	$2,916.67	$35,000.00	$3,000.00
$36,000.00
St. Charles Parish	$878.75	$10,545.00	$1,171.25	$14,055.00
Kenner	$1,719.75	$20,637.00	$2,330.92	$27,971.00
St. John the Baptist	$685.83	$8,230.00	Same	 
Gretna	$1,416.67	$17,000.00	Same	 
Slidell	$1,585.92	$19,031.00	Same	 
St. James	$1,100.00	$13,200.00	$1,200.00	$14,400.00
Terrebonne	$1,055.58	$12,666.96	$1,187.54	$14,250.48
Westwego	$1,400.00	$16,800.00	Same	 
Tangipahoa	$1,600.00	$19,200.00	Same	 
Courtesy of St. Bernard Parish Council
Hunnicutt also has pointed out that St. Bernard council members typically
are men who either are independently wealthy, own their own businesses or
have jobs that allow similarly flexible schedules.