Natchez aldermen approve pay raises for themselves, mayor and others

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Pay raises that Natchez aldermen gave themselves and the mayor take effect next Tuesday along with higher salaries for other city employees.

The six aldermen and Mayor Dan Gibson in recent weeks have been discussing pay raises in sessions closed to the public as job performances and other factors were considered in determining if higher salaries are justified. They approved the new salaries Tuesday night after another closed-door meeting.

For the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, Gibson’s annual salary goes from $68,000 to $94,500. Aldermen raised their annual pay from about $22,000 to nearly $23,800. They also gave City Clerk Megan McKenzie a raise – from about $84,000 to $90,000 a year.

The higher salaries come as the mayor and aldermen – all reelected this past spring with little or no opposition – are in a new four-year term that began July 1.

A listing compiled in 2023 by the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University shows City Hall salaries in three other Mississippi towns with a population of about 14,000:

– Clarksdale mayor: $122,400 a year

– Corinth mayor: $95,000

– Greenwood mayor: $78,000

– Clarksdale commissioners: $46,500

– Corinth aldermen: $19,700

– Greenwood councilmen: $16,500

In two cities closer to Natchez, the mayor’s annual salary is $126,500 in Vicksburg, with a population of about 21,500, and $81,000 in Brookhaven, with a population of about 11,600.

These numbers are rounded, don’t reflect changes that may have recently been made and don’t include all Mississippi municipalities.

The Stennis Institute survey also shows city clerks’ salaries in selected cities: $84,000 in Clarksdale; $70,000 in Corinth; $70,000 in Greenwood; $92,200 in Vicksburg; $62,440 in Brookhaven.

The highest-paid Mississippi mayor listed gets $150,000 in Southaven. The highest-paid city board members are the Vicksburg aldermen with $87,800.

The new $23,760 salaries for the Natchez Board of Aldermen don’t apply to Billie Joe Frazier, whose alderman’s salary is less because he gets a pension as a retired Natchez police officer. 

Aldermen also approved pay raises Tuesday for several other city employees, including all those who work in the Public Works Department, according to McKenzie.