Content area
Full Text
AFTER BEING FORCED twice this year to intervene in disputes about the pay of the top executives at parishowned hospitals, some council members are ready to tighten their control over the hospitals.
The Jefferson Parish Council has long taken a hands-off approach to managing the two community hospitals its taxpayers built. The parish-owned hospitals are selfsufficient, and council members say they want to avoid bringing politics into the management of East Jefferson General Hospital and West Jefferson Medical Center.
Nevertheless, Councilman Lloyd Giardina says he will propose a resolution and ordinance at this week's council meeting to require that any changes in hospital directors' compensation be approved by the council. Since 1993, the council has held the authority to set compensation for any new chief executive at the hospitals, while the hospitals' boards bear responsibility for evaluating chief executives' pay year after year.
The most recent controversy arose over a board decision at East Jefferson General Hospital to increase Chief Executive Officer Peter Betts' salary by 13%, bringing it to $350,000 and his total compensation to about $429,000.
West Jefferson's board of directors voted down an increase for its CEO Gary Muller earlier this year that would have brought his salary from $337,000 a year to $350,000,...