ST. GEORGE - As the City of St. George continues to come together, the people running the city are looking to get paid — but there have been questions about how the proposed numbers stack up to comparably sized cities.

St. George is the fifth largest city in Louisiana, coming in right behind Lafayette and just ahead of Lake Charles. Council members in St. George proposed paying the mayor $175,000, the chief of police $150,000 and council members $44,000.

St. George Transition District Member Chris Rials wrote his colleagues a letter that outlined how the proposed salaries for officials compare nationally. He says the pay is too high, especially since council members will only be part-time workers.

Lafayette’s mayor-president makes just over $121,000, and their council members make about $30,000. The police chief makes between $150,000 and $170,000.

Lake Charles’ population is just below St. George’s. The mayor there is paid just over $142,000 a year, and the chief of police is paid $133,000. The council members get around $18,000.

Baton Rouge, while significantly bigger in population, only pays its council $1,200 annually.

Officials from St. George say the comparison to neighboring cities doesn’t tell the full story.

The city hasn’t decided how much power the mayor will have in day-to-day governing of St. George. In March, voters choose whether the city will follow a council-manager system of government or not. If voters approve that setup, much of the mayor’s power gets transferred to a full-time city manager who would get paid another $200,000. That would leave the mayor with a $175,000 part-time, mostly ceremonial job.

The salaries will be discussed at the next St. George council meeting Jan. 14.