Parish charter amendment runs into opposition

As early voting for the Dec. 8 runoff nears its end, a proposed St. Mary charter amendment is running into opposition.
The St. Mary Industrial Group published an ad in The Daily Review on Wednesday, urging voters to oppose a measure governing the way parish council salaries are set.
Early voting continues through Saturday at the parish courthouse in Franklin and the registrar of voters branch office at 301 Third St. in Morgan City.
Voters will decide the runoffs for secretary of state, sheriff and coroner in addition to the fate of the salary amendment.
The amendment would set the salaries of parish council members at $800 a month, or $1,200 for council members elected at large.
The amendment allows the council to vote on salary increases, but not in the last year of a term. And no pay raise can take effect during the term in which it is passed.
Councilman Dale Rogers introduced the ordinance to send the measure to voters with a second from Councilman Gabriel Beadle that was — after several previous attempts — approved by the council.
In an interview Tuesday, Rogers said, “The parish council is the lowest paid elected officials in the parish. This compensation has been in place for 35 years. There is no additional pay for mileage, per diem or insurance.”
Rogers said council members represent more people in square miles than most city council members; attend two meetings a month; oversee more boards; and are responsible for at least three times the budget of other governing bodies.
He said the language of the proposition is the same as all five municipal governments in the parish, as well as 90 percent of state governing authorities. “No council member can raise their (own) pay,” he said. “If the council passes an ordinance to raise pay, which takes a majority of six votes, it will be for the next term of elected officials that the people vote for. No council member is guaranteed re-election.”
Rogers said there is talk of “a loophole” in the proposed amendment to the charter. “The language is clear about us setting our pay by ordinance instead of going out to the people to vote. They tried it three times, and it failed every single time.”
He said the proposal would move the parish forward and “be progressive.”
“People seem to believe that every four years the council will raise their pay,” he said, noting that is not the case.
SMIG’s ad noted that the amendment was placed on the Dec. 8 ballot rather than on the Nov. 6 primary ballot, when it would have been less expensive and when turnout would have been higher.
“This amendment will allow the council to approve pay raises without seeking public approval,” the ad said.
The Franklin Banner-Tribune contributed to this report.