REPORT: Shreveport City Council Clerk Salaries Jump— Many City Offices Make Six Figures While Median Shreveport Households Sit At $41k
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Troubling reports have alleged that huge pay raises for Shreveport City Council Clerks have been implemented without City Council vote as required under the Shreveport City Charter, sections 4.12 and 14.09. The increased salaries range from $56,624 to a whopping $100,799 for the February 2023 appointed City Council Clerk Shanerika Flemings. For comparison, city councillors for reference make $15,225.12 per year, Mayor Tom Arceneaux makes $95,999. Your average Shreveport family subsists on median household income of $41,782, the average individual income is $29,862 per the U.S. Census from 2021.
In a report Monday, John Settle of Focus SB/The Inquisitor News, posted to Facebook,
“Everyone in the Shreveport City Council Clerk's office had an early visit from Santa.
They all got big pay raises that were NOT authorized by the City Council.
And that's on top of the 13% pay raise granted to all Shreveport employees in Jan. of last year.
Here is how much each employee has benefited this year--with the Jan.1,2023 salary to the current salary:
1. Shanerika Fleming: $90,046 to $100,799.
Fleming was hired in Feb. of this year after the 13% pay raise was effective.
2. Jacqueline White: $99,491 to $109,440 this year- salary of $82,080 in 2020.
3. LaTonya Bogan: $86,081 to $96,411 this year--salary of $71,018 in 2020.
4.Terri Sanders: $52,919 to $56,624 this year-salary of $43,659 in 2020.
5. RJ Johnson: Hired in Feb. of this year $85,000 to 87,204.
The total salaried now paid to the Shreveport City Council Clerk and clerk's office exceeds $450,000.”
He subsequently corrected the salary of RJ Johnson the Director of Council Affairs stating, “ RJ Johnson was hired at a salary of $81,500. He now has a salary of $87,204.”
Settle writing for his blog SettleTalk alleges that “the switch of the city's insurance carrier to an unknown, unqualified agent” was the responsibility of Flemings during her tenure under former Mayor Adrian Perkins according to “politicos” he added that “As a reward, Flemings became the trusted advisor of Perkins at an inflated salary. Of course, she lost her job at the end of Perkin's term. Flemings was later back on the public payroll. This time she was hand selected, secretly, by council president James Green to be the council clerk.”
He explained “Green ram-rodded Flemings appointment just as he did her immediate predecessor. This was after Green and his lieutenant councilwoman Tabatha Taylor badgered the then council clerk, who had studied under Art Thompson, to the point that this lady found a new job.”
“Somewhere along the way after her appointment in Feb. of this year, Fleming received a big pay raise of $10,000. And reportedly others in the council office got salary bumps recently.
No, this action was NOT approved by the city council, much less discussed.”
Settle added that due to Fleming’s training as an attorney with “many years of experience,” in private practice and a law clerk for a Second Circuit Court of Appeals, she should be aware of the city charter’s relevant provisions. He charged, “This salary raise clearly is malfeasance by Flemings. She is an employee at will and can be terminated at any time by a majority vote of the council--without cause. Additionally, Fleming could be subject to criminal charges.” Settle continued, “If Fleming was instructed by one or more council members that she had a pay raise, then such action(s) by those persons is also malfeasance and possibly criminal in nature.”
In May, K94.5 Radio reported that the U.S. Census data doesn’t even paint the whole picture. Bristol wrote, “According to the latest U.S. Census data, of the 184,021 people that lived in Shreveport, LA in 2021, 24.5% of the population lived in poverty, which is defined as having a household income of less than $12,880 for one person, $17,420 for two, $21,960 for three, and $26,500 for four persons. I don't know how that number was arrived at, but it seems obscenely low. On top of that, it doesn't account for what many call the 'working poor.' The latest numbers from the United Way of Northwest Louisiana, referenced in the Reddit post that I made sure to fact-check, show that 55% of people in Shreveport qualify as 'ALICE' or households living in poverty. 'ALICE' refers to someone who is 'Asset Limited, Income Constrained, and Employed.' “
In Jan. 2022 The Shreveport Times reported that Shreveport was named the “third-worst job market among 182 U.S. cities,” citing a WalletHub study. Remarkably, nearly all of the jobs recommended by the Times, are positions working for the city. And why not? According to KTBS, the city's top ten paid positions, all make in excess of $146k per year with Police Chief Wayne Smith making $195,359 up from his starting salary of $109,746
KTBS lists the positions:
“Fire Chief John Lane, $187,020, up from $170,444
Chief Administrative Officer Henry Whitehorn, $180,800, up from $160,000
City engineer Patrick Furlong, $177,597, up from $157,159
City attorney Ron Lattier, $169,508, up from $149,999
Chief financial officer Kasey Brown, $157, 072, up from $139,000
Public Works director Gary B. Norman, $152,705, up from $135,137
Chief technology officer Keith Hanson, $152,559, up from $134,999
Human Resources director Sherron Williams, $150,543, up from $133,224
Community Development director Bonnie Moore, $146,902, up from $130,000”
All told, working for the city government seems to be one of the most lucrative opprotunities in the Shreveport/Bossier area. And it’s all on the backs of citizens who are scraping by with less than $30k per capita, about $41k per household… if they can find a job at all.
Note: Mayor Tom Arceneaux is scheduled to speak with AGR on Monday evening to address this ongoing controversy. Listen Live at 5 PM CT.