by Malcolm Butler
Ruston mayor Ronny Walker and the board of aldermen could receive 20 percent pay raises in the near future.
As part of tonight’s Ruston City Council meeting, Agenda Item D will introduce an ordinance to establish salary increases for Walker as well as aldermen Carolyn Cage (Ward 1), Angela Mayfield (Ward 2), Melanie Lewis (Ward 3), John Denny (Ward 4) and Bruce Siegmund (Ward 5).
Walker, who is in his second year of his third term as the Ruston mayor, currently makes $100,000 and would receive an additional $20,000 starting January 1.
Each of the five aldermen currently receive $12,000 and would receive a $2,400 increase starting at the turn of the calendar.
“The city council members went to (City of Ruston CFO) Julie (Keen) when we were working on the budget and said, ‘We need to give the mayor a raise,'” said Walker. “I said no. They insisted but we didn’t want to hold up the budget, and it has to happen through a separate ordinance. So they are bringing forth to the council a raise for the mayor.
“I said that I wouldn’t accept a raise unless they gave themselves one too. So there a raise for the same percentage that they came up with of 20 percent.”
The ordinance will be introduced in tonight’s meeting and then would be voted on by the aldermen during the December meeting.
According to Denny, the decision to pursue the raise for the mayor came due to a couple of different reasons.
“A lot of business leaders around town reached out to myself and some of the other aldermen pushing for a raise for Ronny,” said Denny. “If you look at the job Ronny has done in Ruston over (his tenure as mayor), it’s easy to see the growth with the things that have occurred around us and the new development that is still coming. The job he has done in my opinion and the opinion of so many others has been great.”
Bill Hogan, President and CEO of Century Next Bank, also praised the job that Walker has done during his tenure in office.
“Ronny is a shining example of leadership in our world,” said Hogan. “He oversees a $120 million business, and he has done incredible things through his leadership. It’s amazing what we have become in Lincoln Parish.
“He is undoubtedly not only one of the best mayors in the country, but he is one of the best business leaders in the country. He has the ability to pull the best out of every situation. I completely support paying him more, and we should pay the council more too.”
Denny added the decision impacts the future of the position as well.
“Part of the conversation is that Ronny is not going to be the mayor forever,” said Denny. “The draw is also to bring the salary up to the standard for cities our size in the state of Louisiana. That was part of this conversation as well. We want to make sure we are competitive in the event that Ronny doesn’t run for re-election.”
Although most cities have a mayor and an administrator, Walker serves in both capacities within Ruston.
“When I ran for this job, I didn’t even know what it paid,” said Walker. “I didn’t do it for the money.”
According to Walker, his last raise came “six or seven years ago” and was 20 percent.
Since Walker began serving as Ruston’s mayor in 2014, the city has seen tremendous economic growth and is considered one of the fastest growing economically within the state of Louisiana.
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