Councilman: ‘Shreveport Mayor Shouldn’t Have to Eat Whataburger Everyday’

The Shreveport Council is again talking about raising the pay of the Mayor of the city. The issue was tabled several months ago, but it came back up during Tuesday's Zoom meeting.

Councilman John Nickelson says "I am ready to take action to increase the salary of the Mayor of Shreveport." The proposal was tabled back in the spring, but Nickelson and Jerry Bowman want to bring it back up for discussion.

The ordinance before the council would increase the salary of the Mayor after the next election. It would not go into effect until January of 2023. The proposed changed would boost the pay of Shreveport's Mayor from $95,000 a year to $125,000.

Nickelson says:

It is ridiculous that a city with a population of about 190,000 pays the mayor $95,000 a year. This sends the wrong message about how critical that role is. I don't think the Mayor of Shreveport should  be eating a steak dinner every day, but I don't think he should be eating Whataburger everyday either.

What do mayors in other cities in Louisiana make:

Sharon Weston Broome of Baton Rouge $175,000

Latoya Cantrell of New Orleans $174,000

Friday Ellis Mayor of Monroe $141,000

Josh Guillory Mayor President of Lafayette $125,385

Tommy Chandler of Bossier City $94,000

The Shreveport Council also has a pay raise for the council on the table, but no action has been taken on this proposal either. The proposal calls for a 70% increase bringing council pay to $25,000 from the current $15,000 per year. The last time changes were made to the pay for the Council and the Mayor was back in 2002.