MANDEVILLE, LA – Mandeville City Councilman David Ellis has asked the Administration to place the salaries of his appointed department heads in separate budget line items for the FY17 budget.
At last week's Budget Work Session, Ellis made the request, which he will reiterate at today's Council meeting.
"Earlier this year, the mayor gave department heads retroactive raises without the knowledge or consent of the Council," Ellis said. "I want to make sure that doesn't happen again, so I've asked the Administration to place department head salaries in separate line items, so raises will require a budget adjustment."
The Mandeville City fiscal year begins Sept. 1. Budget hearings will be conducted later in the summer, and the budget is expected to be presented near the end of July.
"This is a very simple request to ensure transparency to both the public and the Council," Ellis said. "When we learned of this issue in April I said that if such a move was legal, it shouldn't be, and that I would work to prevent it from recurring. I'm now asking; if necessary, I'll take steps to make it legally required."
