Meet the Mayor’s Executive Assistant

Central Mayor David Barrow has announced the appointment of Terri Parnell-Allison, a 28-year veteran of City-Parish government, as new Executive Assistant effective Jan. 1, 2019. Barrow said Ms. Parnell will have duties similar to those he exercised when he was Chief Administrative Officer under Mayor Mac Watts.
Barrow said, “I am pleased to announce that Terri Parnell-Allison will be joining my staff as my Executive Assistant. Her governmental experience, knowledge, and respect from City-Parish employees made this an easy decision. Terri is a resident of Central, and she will be an asset to the City of Central.”
Ms. Parnell-Allison is the wife of Greg Allison. They have four children and six grandchildren. She retired from the City-Parish the day of the flood in August 2016. For the past two years, she has enjoyed spending more time with her children and grandchildren. However, when Mayor Barrow asked her to come onboard, she said she was happy to accept. “So far, I’ve enjoyed every minute of it!”
Ms. Parnell-Allison’s resume includes the following:
• City-Parish Department of Environmental Services – Confidential Assistant to the Director 2015-2016
• City-Parish Department of Public Works – Secretary to the Director of Public Works 2012-2015.
• Office of Mayor-President – Executive Secretary to Chief Administrative Officer 2000-2012 – Performed all administrative functions for the Chief Administrative Officer, a top senior official in city government, who leads a force of 4,600 personnel including police, fire, homeland security, emergency medical personnel, department of public works, human resources, finance and economic development staff, and provided services to a city with an annual budget of nearly one billion dollars.
• East Baton Rouge Coroner-Administrative Assistant 1996-2000
• City-Parish Baton Rouge River Center – Administrative Assistant to Executive Director 1989-1996
• Graduate, Glen Oaks High School Class of 1977
Ms. Parnell-Allison served under Mayor-Presidents Tom Ed McHugh, Bobby Simpson, and Kip Holden and CAO’s Jim Brewer, Walter Monsour, Mike Futrell, and John Carpenter. “I have utmost respect for every one of the them,” she said, “and we still communicate.” During her entire career at the City-Parish, she was an unclassified employee and could have been fired at any time. However, she was retained by Mayor-Presidents and CAO’s of many different background. Colleagues attribute that to her dedication and strong work ethic.
Mayor Barrow said there are currently only three city employees:
• Mayor David Barrow
• Terri Parnell-Allison, executive assistant to the mayor
• Candance Salsbury, secretary.
Barrow said privatization of the City of Central is saving taxpayers a great deal, including the savings for retirement benefits that the city will not have to pay.
He said the Municipal Employees Retirement System just increased the employer contribution (from the city) from 19 to 26 percent of an employee’s pay. But with only three employees, that won’t be costly to Central. For cities such as Hammond with 300 employees, the costs will be very significant.