Staffers’ pay hike under review

Many Terrebonne Parish employees will receive pay raises totaling $1.2 million if the Terrebonne Parish Council adopts a salary increase plan at its meeting next Wednesday.

The parish hired the Dallas-based human resources consulting firm The Waters Consulting Group last year for $69,800 to suggest pay increase amounts.

Waters recommended that all employees receive a base salary, raising the pay of those making under the minimum.

Waters also recommended that employees who are making more than a specified base salary but not greater than a maximum amount receive up to a 3 percent raise. Their adjusted pay cannot exceed the specified maximum amount, officials said.

Four employees exceed the maximum pay. Their salaries will be frozen.

The salaries of firefighters in Terrebonne can only go up 1 percent since firefighters have already received a 2 percent raise.

“The focus of the Waters Group was to raise those with hourly wages to be competitive,” said Parish Human Resources and Risk Management Director J. Dana Ortego at last week’s parish council meeting where the ordinance was introduced. “It’s difficult to compete with private industry. Those in the middle and towards the bottom are most directly affected and receive the most benefit…The Waters study was to get, let’s say, underpaid employees to the minimum.”

Ortego said the salaries of some parish employees are 10 to 15 percent below the minimum.

Councilman Alvin Tillman said he hoped the pay raises would stanch the outflow of lower-paid employees.

“How do we stop the revolving doors at the lower levels?” Tillman said. “With the higher echelons of government, there’s no problem with leaving. We cannot compete with the private sector, but our benefits are second to none.”

“This will assist us with retaining employees,” Ortego said.

“I want to see people at the bottom get a raise,” said Councilman Johnny Pizzolatto.

The Waters study recommended automatic yearly pay increases for employees as well.

Councilwoman Teri Cavalier called the nominal .01 cent increase currently given to employees on the anniversary of their hiring “an insult,” and cited the yearly raises – called the “step level” by Waters – as a reason for supporting the new salary plan.

Ortego said the parish did not have enough money for annual automatic pay increases, though the parish ultimately intends to grant them.

“Hopefully, we can find a way to get to step level,” Ortego said.

The parish currently fills out a five- or six-page evaluation report 30 days before the anniversary of an employee’s hiring. Employees potentially receive raises based on the evaluation.

Also at last week’s meeting, the parish council approved $3.2 million in additional spending to pay for new work on the Morganza-to-the-Gulf hurricane levee protection system being constructed by the Terrebonne Levee District.

The money comes from a quarter-cent sales tax Terrebonne Parish has collected since 2002 that is dedicated for use by the levee district to build Morganza. The council must approve expenditures from the sales tax.

The additional funds will pay for preliminary engineering reports, Levee District Director Windell Curole told the council.

“You can’t get around doing this,” Curole said.

The resolution states that new features have been designed for Morganza.

The engineering work for Morganza will be performed on Reach E west of Dularge; reaches F, G, H-1 and H-2 surrounding Dulac; and Reach J-3 near Pointe-aux-Chenes.

In addition, the money will pay for engineering work on barge flood-control structures on the Houma Navigation Canal; bayous Grand Caillou and Pointe aux Chenes; and the Placid and Bush canals.

In a letter sent last month to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s chief coastal affairs advisor Garret Graves, Curole stated that-for the time being-the local sales tax revenue will be spent to construct Morganza’s barge flood-control structures and state money will be expended on building the levees.

The letter also states that the levee district expects to be reimbursed by the state for money spent on building the barge flood-control structures.

The levee district has received $27 million from the sales tax for the Morganza project and $53 million from state capital outlays and recent state budget surpluses.

Curole said bonding out the sales tax revenue could bring in $48 million to the district.

The parish council also passed a motion last week made by Councilman Alvin Tillman to send a letter to Houma concrete mat manufacturer Submar asking the company to move some material off Submar’s location on the Intracoastal Waterway.

Residents living nearby have heavily criticized the site because of cement dust in the air and trucks using unauthorized streets. Tillman’s district contains the Submar facility.

Parish President Michel Claudet said Submar representatives informed him that, if the company transfers to a different location, Submar would move outside of Terrebonne Parish. Claudet said Submar’s 30 or so employees would leave with the company.