Part Time Pay, FULL Time OUTRAGE

“Part-Time Pay, Full-Time Outrage: St. George Fire District’s Wild Spending Priorities”

ST GEORGE, LA — While the Bluebonnet-area still waits for a promised fire station 10 years and $20 million later, the St. George Fire Protection District seems to have no problem handing out sky-high salaries to part-time employees.

Recent records reveal jaw-dropping part-time pay rates: a part-time Chief of Communications earning over $140,000/year and a part-time Fire Training Officer making over $126,000/year. One of these part-time positions is held by the fire chief’s longtime girlfriend, whose salary — $ 129,888/year — is part of a family affair, as her daughter is also employed part-time in the department making $67,562/year(as of 2024). That’s right — part-time. Combine that with the Chief and the trio rakes in over $400,000/year.

Meanwhile, the full-time firefighters who keep this community safe — working 56-hour weeks, sleeping at the station, missing holidays with family — are starting at barely over $40,000/year. For those unfamiliar with fire service, that’s less than half of what the department is paying some part-timers.

And it’s not just the entry-level ranks feeling the squeeze. As we reported previously, veteran firefighter G. Barnes was paid just $45,000 a year — even after 19 years of service. So while the administration boasts about its glossy pay scale with numbers unattainable by most, the truth is: most firefighters aren’t even on the right step of that scale.

Let’s review:

• $20 million collected for a promised fire station → still no station.

• Six-figure part-time salaries → fully funded.

• Costly lawsuits targeting union firefighters → fully funded.

• Full-time firefighters with two decades of service scraping by at $45K → underpaid, overlooked, and overworked.

• 30+ million in back pay liabilities if the union is successful

“It’s the ultimate slap in the face,” said a Local 4524 spokesperson. “The people working the hardest, risking the most, and sacrificing everything are the ones getting the least — while the top brass and part-time execs cash checks most firefighters can only dream of.”

Local 4524 is calling on the public, the media, and the East Baton Rouge Metro Council to demand accountability from the St. George Fire Board — and to ask the most obvious question in Baton Rouge today:Where is the money going? And why are the firefighters always the last priority?

“We are open to a settlement,” the union added. “And yes — we believe the first step toward restoring trust is removing Chief Tarleton from these negotiations. It’s time for leadership.”