Mayor George Flaggs Jr. plans to seek a raise for himself and Aldermen Michael Mayfield and Alex Monsour when the Board of Mayor and Aldermen holds its Sept. 2 budget hearing.

The 5:30 p.m. hearing will be in the boardroom at the Robert M. Walker Building, 1401 Walnut St.

“I’m going to ask for a dollar amount; not a percentage,” he said after a budget meeting on capital improvements. “I want a raise for the aldermen and the employees. I’ve got this city $68 million in eight years. I’m working as the mayor and a lobbyist. I’m saving them money.”

Flaggs would not give an amount.

The board’s last raise was in 2019, which increased the mayor’s salary from $103,417.60 per year to $106,520.12. The aldermen’s salaries went from $82,742.40 per year to $85,224.67.

Flaggs cited the recent raises approved by the Clarksdale Board of Commissioners, which set Clarksdale Mayor Chuck Espy’s salary at $122,421, one of the highest mayoral salaries in Mississippi. 

“Chuck Espy only has 15,000 people and he raised his (salary) $26,000,” he said.

Raises for the board are set by ordinance under the city charter. In order to get the raise, the board must amend the ordinance that sets the pay for the mayor and the aldermen.