Go Forward CEO Ryan Watley had a salary in 2021 of close to $170,000, far exceeding what is paid to any of Pine Bluff's public officials, according to IRS filings and city financial figures.
Nonprofits must file a 990 form with the IRS each year. Those documents for years 2017, 2018 and 2019 are available online from the IRS website while 2019, 2020 and 2021 documents are available on the Go Forward website.
For the year 2021 -- the most recent year available – Watley was received $169,428. In 2020, he made $167,866, while in 2019 he made $152,312. In 2018, he made $151,241. He was named CEO of the organization in May 2017, and the 990 tax filing for that year shows he was paid $84,307.
Watley said in a recent videotaped interview with The Commercial that his salary was paid by private money. Both he and Go Forward board chairman Tommy May were asked in an email Friday where funding for Watley's salary comes from, with May responding on Saturday he would not divulge that information.
"The business sector makes a significant investment in GFPB initiatives," May said in a written response. "The names of these donors is not available without their consent. I cannot and will not disclose these names. However, it is significant to know that these investors believe in Go Forward and the work it has done."
May and Watley were also asked what criteria were used to determine Watley's pay and raises. Between 2018 and 2019 and between 2020 and 2021, Watley got less than a 1% raise. But between 2019 and 2020, his salary rose more than 10%.
May said Watley's pay "includes a moderate six figure salary," with the rest coming from benefits and a performance bonus.
"His salary is based upon the value that the private sector would dictate," May said. "Dr. Watley has a PhD and can make in excess of that salary with most major universities. His compensation is paid out of private funds that are dedicated to salaries and education. No tax dollars pay any portion of Dr. Watley's salary."
Go Forward confirmed on Friday that the organization has three full-time employees – one of whom is Watley – as well as two part-time employees.
By comparison, Mayor Shirley Washington will make $118,714 this year and oversees some 400 employees in all of city government. Police Chief Denise Richardson will make $119,141 this year and has something approaching 100 employees; and Fire Chief Shauwn Howell will make a little more than $110,000 this year and has about 90 employees, according to recent city information. Notably, Watley's pay also tops that of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who makes just under $159,000.
Two former Pine Bluff City Council members questioned both the amount of money Watley is being paid and the secrecy behind where the money comes from.
"If none of the money to pay Ryan is tax dollars, who gives to a nonprofit for salaries?" said Joni Alexander, who left the council at the end of 2022 after not running for reelection. "Most of the time if a nonprofit asks for a grant, the money is said to be for everything but salaries."
Alexander also said having so much money come from outside sources could be seen as exerting influence over Watley.
"He who signs my check is who I work for," Alexander said.
Alexander said city council members are not paid much – city records show the amount as a little more than $13,000 a year – because they should be motivated by their interest in doing the job.
"You do it because you're interest is in working for the people, not for greed," she said.
Alexander said if Go Forward can pay for Watley's salary out of private dollars, they should handle their whole agenda the same way.
"If you add up everything they claimed to have done, that number doesn't supersede their private dollars," Alexander said. "So why do they need the tax? Just leave the tax for the city to use."
Ivan Whitfield, who was defeated at the polls last year after a group who supported Go Forward successfully recruited another candidate to run against him for his city council seat, said he had made the same argument about Watley's pay at a recent meeting of the NAACP, where he now serves as president.
"I think four employees or whatever it is that he has and for what he makes, they're not going to tell you where that money comes from," Whitfield said. "So he'll be accountable to them and not to the people. Being paid with private dollars, he'll be doing their bidding, and not the bidding of the public. And that's another headache for the public."
The five-eighths-cent sales tax that funds Go Forward initiatives will sunset late next year. Voters are going to the polls on Tuesday to decide for or against extending the tax for another seven years.
Also on the ballot is a three-eighths-cent sales tax earmarked for public safety. That tax would not expire.
Early voting, which is being held at the Jefferson County Courthouse, started May 2 and ends on Monday.