City of Central Is a $20 Million Enterprise; We Can’t Keep a Good Mayor on $85,000/yr

Central Mayor Wade Evans is seriously considering not running for reelection.  

The reason is simple.  The job does not pay enough.

In our view, Mayor Evans has done an outstanding job. The City of Central is doing very well under his leadership.  He has made a few decisions that some disagree with, but Central is on a very positive trajectory that should insure the future here for a generation or more.

Moreover, the Mayor’s success has drawn a lot of favorable attention outside of Central.  The new City of St. George is largely modeled after Central. In fact, these two cities are models for the nation of how privatization can work out very positively.

As a result, Mayor Evans is getting a number of very attractive job offers, not only in Louisiana but outside the state.

The Mayor has been in business for himself for much of his life. When he ran for Mayor, he thought he would be able to continue his business.  However, the demands of being Mayor made that impossible.  

The Mayor’s salary is only $85,000 a year. There are no benefits at all, just the salary.

Ten or 15 years ago, $85,000 wasn’t that bad, but this is a different world.  The dollar doesn’t go very far today.

The Mayor of the City of Central is responsible for creating and administering a budget in the range of $18 to $20 million.

It’s the equivalent of being the CEO of a medium-size business.

At the same time, salaries for government jobs equivalent to the Mayor of Central are much higher than we pay.

For example, the Chief Administrative Officer of the City-Parish government is paid $175,000.  Other top staffers in the Mayor-President’s office earn $140,000 to $155,000. The Mayor of St. George earns $170,000.

Top administrators in Louisiana state government earn $150,000 or more.  Some much more.

It’s really time to seriously address the issue of compensation for the Mayor of Central.

To be competitive with what the Mayor is being offered, the salary should be in the range of $150,000 to $175,000 and it should certainly include a benefits package.

Central’s elections are this year.  The Mayor knew what the job paid when he ran, so that’s not an issue.  However, it would make good business sense for Central to increase the compensation for the Mayor effective when the new Mayor is sworn in next year

That way, the salary could be enough of an inducement to keep Mayor Evans with us and also to attract anyone else in the private or public sector who would like to consider running.  As Mayor Pro-tem Aaron McKinney said, “We will get what we pay for!”