Confusion over salary guidelines has delayed the French Market Corp.'s negotiations to make Valerie Rivers its next executive director. The corporation's board of directors selected Rivers from a field of four finalists, offering her the job in early July with the goal of signing a contract by August. But at Tuesday's board meeting, Chairwoman Demetric Mercadel said, "We are...
Confusion over salary guidelines has delayed the French Market Corp.'s negotiations to make Valerie Rivers its next executive director. The corporation's board of directors selected Rivers from a field of four finalists, offering her the job in early July with the goal of signing a contract by August. But at Tuesday's board meeting, Chairwoman Demetric Mercadel said, "We are hoping everything is in place and something happens by September."
Negotiations apparently hit a snag when the discussion turned to money. When the last full-time director, Frank Pizzolato, resigned in December he was making $110,000, a $16,000 increase over his predecessor, Kenneth Ferdinand.
After Pizzolato left, Mercadel said, the City Council passed an ordinance setting the director's salary at its previous level of $94,000. This eliminated the board's ability to offer more money, she said. "We are working with the (Chief Administrative Office) to revisit this," she said.
Board member Wilma Heaton said she was surprised the city would take such a drastic step. When the French Market Corp. was searching for potential candidates for the executive director position, many people refused to submit a resume because they considered the previous salary of $110,000 too low, she said.
As it turns out, the city never passed such an ordinance.
Talk of a salary cap "is incorrect," said Tyler Gamble, spokesman for Mayor Mitch Landrieu. "As it stands now, the maximum salary for the director's position is $97,576 per the unclassified pay plan. That can be changed through a council ordinance, as it was for former director Frank Pizzolato."
Toward the end of the meeting Tuesday, Ira Middleberg told his fellow board members much the same thing. "This is not a problem," he said. "It's a process you have to go through."
The French Market Corp. has a budget of $8.1 million this year and a projected budget of $9 million for 2014.
If the board and Rivers cannot agree on a salary, the French Market Corp. will offer the position to its second choice, Jon Wesley Smith, who works as a commercial real estate agent at Talbot Realty Group. He previously worked at HRI Properties, where he handled special leasing projects.
Rivers has spent the majority of her 30-year professional career working in the public sector, most recently as the director of the Department of Minority Business Development for Richmond, Va.
The French Market board first advertised the director's position Feb. 6, with a March 21 application deadline. The Hawkins Co., a California firm hired to assist in the search, received 242 applications that it whittled to 16 candidates, including eight from Louisiana and eight from out of state.
Hawkins is negotiating with Rivers, but the board has final approval over any contract offered.
The French Market Corp. has been without an executive director since Pizzolato resigned over a management dispute more than eight months ago. Ann Duplessis served as interim executive director until she left in July. Patricia Henry has been holding down the spot ever since.