ZACHARY - Zachary is proposing a salary increase for city leaders, saying the city's current pay falls behind other areas in the state.

"When you look at inflation, we look at a lot of costs and everything else. We have got to fix this regardless of who the chief, mayor, or council is. We're below a lot of the cities," McDavid said.

During last week's city council meeting, an ordinance was introduced that would increase the salaries of the mayor, police chief, and city council members significantly.

The Zachary Chief of Police currently has a base salary of around $73,000. When you add state supplemental pay, it goes to about $80,000 a year.

The proposed salary increase would make the base salary for the chief of police $89,100, and each year the chief's salary would increase by a thousand dollars.

"You know he starts at 70 and he tops at 85. So if he goes for, 10-12 years, then he sits at 85 that whole time," McDavid said.

To put it in perspective, the police chief in a city like Youngsville, with a similar population, makes about $86,985. 

First-term Zachary council members make $10,414 a year, while second-term council members make $11,164. The city is looking to increase the annual salary to $12,950 a year with an annual increase of $250 each year.

"They come here and sign checks, that's every two weeks. They do other stuff here; they have workshops and all that, that they're not compensated for. So, I think we need to look at this, the council needs to look at this, and make some decisions to fix this," McDavid said.

West Monroe and Baker both have fewer population than Zachary, yet Baker council members make $15,000 annually, and West Monroe's sits right at $12,000.

As for the mayor, the proposed annual salary would increase from $84,000 to $108,200 with a thousand-dollar increase each year.

The mayor of West Monroe makes $99,970 a year. The Mayor of Sulphur, who has a similar population to Zachary, makes $99,000 annually.

"The mayor, we knew what our salaries would be. It's not about that, it's about what's right here and what we want to do for the people, but also we have to worry about inflation, the cost of living, and be able to afford things too," McDavid said.

The proposed pay raises will go before the council at the next meeting on October 14th.

The raises wouldn't take effect until January 2027. City leaders would have to win reelection in 2026 to take advantage of those new salaries.