It's time to ignore the social media whining, mistatements of fact, and political
spear - throwing at Shreveport elected officials.
The Shreveport City Council should pass a pay raise for Shreveport's NEXT mayor.
Repeat, a pay raise for the NEXT mayor. And who knows who that will be?
The mayor of Shreveport, whomever that may be, is paid $96,000. That is substantially less than the lowest paid Shreveport department head.
And that amount is substantially less than the mayors of Monroe and Alexandria, which are substantially smaller cities.
Current Mayor Adrian Perkins did NOT file this ordinance.
Council members Jerry Bowman, Jr. and John Nicholson proposed this long overdue pay measure. They also sponsored the pay increase ordinance for council members.
Shreveport's annual budget is almost $500,000 per year. That's close to half a billion dollars.
If anyone wants a full time 24/7/365 job with major headaches and a pool of almost 200,000 potential critics, then this IS the job for you!
Of course one must dedicate a minium of six months of their life in a gruelling campaign to earn the seat.
Similarly the Council should pass a pay raise for the NEXT council.
Repeat, the proposed pay raise goes into effect with the council to take office in Dec. 2022.
That means that councilman James Flurry and Bowman can NOT receive any direct benefit from this proposal because they are termed out.
Whether or not the other five council members will get a raise depends on the voters next fall. That is IF they seek re-election.
And a vote FOR the pay increase could be a factor raised by opponents in next years' elections if they do run.
All the yak about payraises for first responders is misguided since six (6%) pay raise was recently enacted by the Council for these employees.
Other arguments against the proposed pay increases are not logical nor founded in the reality that well qualified people must be paid a "decent" compensation to give up the personal life and take on major responsibilities as elected officials.
The Council is urged to pass both proposals.
And if a council member like James Green says its too much, then he can refuse the pay raise or contribute it to a charity. But preferably not his own church.
Similarly council members Grayson Boucher and Levette Fuller can donate any additional funds--or their entire salary--to a worthy cause.
John came to Shreveport in January of 1977 when he was transferred to Barksdale AFB.
He’s been active in Shreveport politics since deciding to make Shreveport his home.
John practiced law for 40 years and he now monitors local politics. He regularly attends Shreveport City Council and Caddo Parish Commission meetings.
John is published weekly in The Inquisitor, bi-monthly in The Forum News, and frequently in the Shreveport Times.
He enjoys addressing civic groups on local government issues and elections.