Simmesport raises mayor's salary; replaces police chief

A 3-2 schism developed on the Simmesport Town Council at its Jan. 14 meeting. What was unusual about this particularly division is that the majority was with Mayor Leslie Draper on one issue and then against him on the other.

The main event of the meeting was an ordinance establishing salaries for the mayor, police chief, town clerk and town superintendent.

It was noted at the meeting that of the four positions, the only one receiving a raise in pay was the mayor. The town clerk's and town superintendent's salaries of $40,280 each reflected what they were paid on an hourly basis, but making them salaried employees. This would eliminate the possibility of overtime should they work more than 40 hours a week.

The police chief's salary was set previously at $800 a week, or $1,600 for a bi-weekly pay period.

Draper's salary was $27,000 a year. The ordinance presented to the council on Jan. 14 showed the salary increasing to $38,480 a year -- an $11,480 raise.

Councilman Sherman Bell -- the only alderman who was on the council in December -- said the ordinance he was looking at was not the one he voted on in December. That one, he said, showed the mayor's salary remaining at $27,000.

Bell said he would not support the ordinance with the mayor's raise to over $38,000 a year.

Councilman Glenn Gautreaux joined Bell in questioning the raise. He said he would like to see the salary stay where it is for now to allow the four new aldermen to get a better understanding of the town's financial condition.

Councilman Romaro Turner said the mayor's pay should be comparable to the other town officials.

Someone asked how the Simmesport mayor's salary compares to the other municipalities in the parish.

Town Attorney Kirk LaCour cited a newspaper article that noted the salary would be comparable to the mayors' salaries in Mansura and Bunkie, which he said are full-time mayors. Other mayors are part-time, he said.

With the raised approved by the council, Draper replaced Mansura Mayor Kenneth Pickett -- with an annual salary of $36,000 -- as the parish's highest-paid mayor. Bunkie's Bruce Coulon is in third at $23,040. The Bunkie mayoral position is considered a "part-time" position.

Marksville is the largest municipality, with a population of over 5,000. It's mayor earns $500 a month. The other towns and villages in the parish pay their mayors less than $1,000 a month.

The question of whether Simmesport requires a "full-time" mayor was never raised or discussed.

Gautreaux moved to amend the ordinance to keep the mayor's salary at $27,000.

"So you want to reduce the mayor's salary," Draper said.

Gautreaux said he didn't want to cut the salary, but to keep it where it is until it can be reconsidered later.

That amendment failed, 3-2. With Bell joining Gautreaux on the losing side and Turner, Tiesha Kennedy and Patrick Wright voting against.

Kennedy then amended the ordinance to increase the police chief's salary from $41,600 a year to $42,000.

That amendment was approved and the amended ordinance was adopted, 3-2, with Bell and Gautreaux opposed.

The ordinance also set the aldermen's pay, keeping it at the $450 per month the council adopted this past May.

MAYORAL APPOINTMENTS

The next discussion came when Draper named his recommendations to fill town administrative positions.

This procedure in municipal council meetings across the nation is usually routine and provokes no discussion. This time it was different.

Draper re-appointed Dacia Adams as town clerk, Charles Carter as superintendent and LaCour as magistrate. The last appointment Draper noted was to recommend Daniel Firmin as police chief, instead of reappointing Glenn Hall.

Hall was named to the position a few months ago after Damon Jacobs resigned to take a position with the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's Office.

After comments from council members expressing disagreement with not reappointing Hall, Lacour told them the process is similar to the president making a recommendation for a Supreme Court justice. Congress can approve the recommendation or reject it. He said the same is true for the council and the mayor's appointments.

"You can consent or not consent," LaCour said. "The council cannot make recommendations."

He said that in this case, the council would vote on whether "you can live with his appointments or cannot live them."

LaCour said if the appointments were rejected, the mayor would have to bring back nominees for the positions at the next council and the next until an appointment was approved. Draper said he would bring the same nominations back to the council each month until they were approved.

The motion was made to reject the appointments, based on the police chief position. LaCour indicated the council had to consider all appointments at once and could not conduct a line-item vote.

The appointments were rejected, 3-2. Gautreaux and Bell opposed. Gautreaux said he did not want to see Hall removed, but that it was the mayor's decision and he would support the mayor on filling those positions.

During discussion, a member of the audience asked why Hall could not continue to be police chief, noting that he was doing a good job and seemed to have a good relationship with youth in town.

Draper said answering that question would be considered a personnel matter that cannot be discussed in public.

LaCour noted that if the appointments are rejected, the positions immediately become vacant and the mayor has the authority to appoint an interim to fill those positions until the council approves a permanent appointment.

After some question-and-answer discussion between aldermen and LaCour, Kennedy asked that the matter be brought back for reconsideration. The council voted 5-0 to bring it back for another vote.
When the appointments were presented a second time, the vote was 4-1 with Kennedy maintaining her opposition.