[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish Council to vote today on doubling council salaries

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish Council to vote today on doubling council salaries
Print Manuel Torres, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. By Manuel Torres,
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. 
Email the author | Follow on Twitter 
on September 16, 2014 at 11:30 AM, updated September 16, 2014 at 5:17 PM

St. Bernard Parish Council members are set to vote Tuesday (Sept. 16) on
doubling salaries for their posts, starting in 2016. The proposal would
raise pay for district council representatives from $7,200 a year to $15,000
a year, among other increases. For live coverage of the vote, go to the
comments. (UPDATE: The council voted 6-1 for the pay raises, read more
here.)

The vote is expected to follow a public hearing on the issue during the
council meeting scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Council Chambers, 8201 W. Judge
Perez Dr., in Chalmette. (Read the hearing's official notice, including
proposal details, below.) 

If approved, the measure would cost taxpayers an additional $60,600 a year,
according to earlier statements from Councilman Casey Hunnicutt, who is
sponsoring the proposal. He didn't immediately return messages Tuesday, but
has said the increases are needed "to recruit a larger number of qualified
candidates to fill these position in the long term."

The pay increases would not go into effect until 2016, months after council
elections are held in fall 2015.

In addition to the increase to district representatives, the proposal would
raise the pay of at-large council members, who represent the entire parish,
from $7,200 a year to $17,400 a year. That's a 142 percent jump. The pay for
the council chair would go from $8,400 a year to $19,800, a 136 percent
increase.

Hunnicutt also has said the pay increase intends to keep up with inflation
since 1988, when the current salaries were approved. The salaries were put
into effect in 1992.

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
According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which calculates
inflation using the official Consumer Price Index, $7,200 in 1988 dollars
rises to $14,500 in today's dollars - a lower amount than in Hunnicutt's
proposal. The discrepancy is larger for proposed pay raises for at-large
council members and the council chair.

Hunnicutt also has called the current pay "economically discriminatory"
because they're too low to allow low- and mid-income residents to dedicate
the time for the duties of the part-time position. The St. Bernard Council's
pay is also below other such bodies in similarly sized communities in
Louisiana.

Should St. Bernard Parish Council salaries double?
Yes
No
Other:
Vote
View Results
Council Chairman Guy McInnis confirmed Tuesday that a vote is likely to take
place at the afternoon meeting, but declined to discuss his position on the
measure.

"I will have my say when the time is appropriate," McInnis said.

In other matters Tuesday, the council is expected to tweak the parish's
process to sell properties taken after owners failed to pay property taxes.
The process gives homeowners adjacent to the tax-delinquent property the
chance to purchase it before it's offered for sale to other potential
buyers. The change the council is considering would let the parish president
choose a buyer when two adjacent homeowners want to buy an adjudicated
property, McInnis said.