A Knights of Chaos float from this year's Carnival depicts Sewerage and Water Board Director Ghassan Korban (along with his salary)
One of several interesting things McBride pointed out today while watching the Sewerage and Water Board meeting was this apparent move to help Ghassan Korban cash out if the state really does manage to take over the utility.
The Sewerage & Water Board Thursday approved a three percent raise to Executive Director Ghassan Korban’s more than $300,000 salary, even as the Gov. Jeff Landry’s hand-picked task force released a plan to strip much of the local control of the city’s sewer, flooding and water treatment utility.
S&WB watchdog Matthew McBride, who first reported the pay raise vote, noted that “according to the salary published in the 2022 audit, this will increase his salary from $338,365 to $348,515.” According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2022 the average median household income in New Orleans was $51,116.
They also doubled his available leave time which further indicates a sizeable buyout could be coming soon. The board members are also quoted here making annoying comments in praise of Korban that place him among "the employees of the sewerage and water board" they claim to be very proud of. But that is a complete distortion. Korban isn't a rank and file employee. He's a highly compensated administrator who, even if he does get canned by Jeff Landry, won't have to worry about where his next meal is coming from for a very long time afterward. Korban is pretty close to retirement anyway. I'm sure the salary boost will help maximize his pension as well.
We can't say the same for most of the actual employees of Sewerage and Water Board. Their future is very much up in the air. Stephanie Hilferty has a bill pending that could transfer them all from the city to the state civil service system. I wonder what that does for their benefits, leave, and retirement plans. I'm guessing its not the same sort of jackpot their boss just got.
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