Voters have say in council’s pay

Jeffrey Libby

Friday, June 1, 2001 | 10:32 a.m.

Boulder City voters decide Tuesday whether the mayor and council members should keep salaries and benefits that already rank them as the lowest paid elected officials in the Las Vegas Valley.

A petition-driven question led by Councilman Bill Smith would halve current pay by eliminating monthly health and auto benefits. In their place, elected officials would receive reimbursement for actual mileage expenses incurred. They would collect no health benefits.

Some say the initiative is punitive, and say it is fall-out from the April primary ballot question that ultimately sank proposed raises of $5,000 for council members and $8,000 for the mayor. Three council members would have received the raises without first having to stand for re-election -- an event that had no precedent in Boulder City and is illegal elsewhere in the state.

Councilman Joe Hardy initiated a second question for the June ballot that he has called a "reasonable alternative for reasonable people." That question amends the city charter to prevent any future council from voting itself same-term raises. It does nothing to change current wages. Today, council members get $500 a month for health insurance and $450 a month for car expenses. Those two benefits provide an additional $11,400 each year to a base salary of $10,400. The total compensation is $21,800.

In Henderson, council members will earn $34,250 as of July 1. The mayor will earn $42,250. Officials earn an additional $11,000 in auto and health allowances.

North Las Vegas elected officials will earn similar wages as of July 1. Council members will earn $34,500; the mayor, $39,500.

Las Vegas council members earn $39,000 annually with no auto or health benefits. The mayor earns $51,150.

If Smith's initiative passes, the combined salaries of the five Boulder City elected officials would be about equal to the salary of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman.

"The bottom line is that Question 1 goes beyond what it needs to do," Hardy said. "It would be an onerous thing. It would actually punish the people who are serving now."

Hardy said the cut in compensation would also limit the pool of people who could afford to run for office to the wealthy and the retired.

Councilman Bryan Nix, who is also opposed to the cut in pay, said the benefits packages earned by elected officials are no different than those offered to department heads such as the city clerk, city manager and director of public works.

"They are very standard benefits packages that Bill Smith has attacked as some kind of secret perk," Nix said.