LAPLACE — A discussion involving the pay levels of St. John the Baptist Parish employees resulted in an agreement that administration officials would meet with Council members to further discuss any potential resolutions.

During discussion on the topic Tuesday, Councilman Larry Sorapuru Jr. expressed surprise by the fact Parish employees were not granted raises for the current fiscal year.

He admitted he “was not familiar with the budget” and “had not examined” the current budget which provided for no pay increases.

However, Sorapuru voted to approve the budget during a Council meeting Dec. 27 and, according to minutes from that meeting, the fact that parish employees were not receiving pay raises was discussed.

This past Tuesday, Sorapuru suggested reworking the budget to accommodate pay raises this year, which councilman Thomas Malik responded “does not make a lot of sense.”

Malik said adding pay raises in the current budget would mean slashing other areas.

Other council members noted pay raises for some employees could potentially result in job losses for others.

All agreed employees should be paid accordingly and adding merit raises in the future was also discussed.

— By Richard Meek