Boulder City Council offering voters alternative in pay question

Jeffrey Libby

Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2001 | 10:03 a.m.

In a move governed by protocol, the Boulder City Council voted Tuesday to trundle out the Charter Commission before putting a question on the June ballot that would preserve raises the council voted itself last summer.

The proposed question would compete against two petition-driven ballot initiatives from Councilman Bill Smith aimed at repealing the raises and amending the city charter to prevent future councils from voting themselves same-term raises.

The city charter allows raises to go into effect after the next municipal election. The council-sponsored change would specify that city officials may not get raises until after standing for election, but it would preserve the current raise.

The Charter Commission, a six-member board appointed by the City Council, meets on an as-needed basis to recommend changes to the city's charter. The board last met in 1997 to approve a ballot measure that proposed annexing Eldorado Valley as part of Boulder City.

The commission meets 5 p.m. Monday in council chambers. As of this morning, board members had not received agendas.

Tuesday night, council members discussed the ballot question for less than five minutes before sending it to the commission on a 3-0 vote. Smith abstained. Councilman Bryan Nix was absent.

Councilman Joe Hardy has called the proposed amendment "a reasonable alternative for reasonable people."

By delaying the charter change until June 27, 2003, it allows a raise approved last July to go into effect this summer.

Mayor Robert Ferraro stands to earn an $8,000 raise. Councilmen Joe Hardy and Bryan Nix would each earn $5,000 more a year. Councilman Mike Pacini, up for re-election this spring, will have to win his race before he collects a raise.

The last raise for Boulder City elected officials was in 1990.

Since December 1970, when the City Council approved salaries for the first time, the council has voted raises four times. In all but the last vote, city officials have stipulated that new raises would not become effective until after council members won re-election.

Hardy, Ferraro and Nix have said that Smith's initiatives go too far and would actually punish the council for suggesting the raise.

Smith's proposed amendment to the charter would limit council members' pay to the current base salary of $10,674 plus reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses. The mayor earns a base salary of $13,243.

Monthly auto and health benefits that add another $11,400 in pay would be eliminated by Smith's amendment, halving their compensation.

In neighboring Henderson, where recent raises were staggered to account for election cycles, council members will earn $34,250 effective July 2001. The mayor will earn $42,250. They earn another $11,000 for auto and health expenses.

Las Vegas council members, who represent about 78,000 residents apiece, earn $38,934 annually with no auto or health benefits. The mayor earns $51,150.

North Las Vegas council members recently raised their pay to $34,500, but they must complete their terms before getting the raise. The mayor will earn $39,500. They get another $10,800 a year for auto and health expenses.