Editorial: Pay raise controversy will not die

Friday, June 8, 2001 | 4:59 a.m.

It always is a dicey proposition for elected officials when they raise their pay -- even when increases are deserving. The prospect of a voter backlash always is lurking, so politicians typically are cautious regarding salaries. Still, there are times when elected officials cross the line, which is what the Boulder City Council did last year. The City Council decided to give its members and the mayor a pay raise without them first having to face the voters before it took effect -- an unprecedented move in Nevada that was a slap in the face to accountability.

So it wasn't too surprising that Boulder City voters responded by overwhelmingly passing a ballot question that stopped the pay increase from going into effect. The controversy didn't end there, though. In last Tuesday's municipal election, voters had two ballot measures dealing with pay and compensation. The first initiative, which was sponsored by the lone councilman to vote against the pay increase, Bill Smith, would dramatically reduce the benefits now provided to council members and the mayor. The initiative also would prevent future city councils from passing salary hikes without first winning re-election. A separate measure, sponsored by City Councilman Joe Hardy, sought only to prevent same-term pay raises.

Both ballot questions passed easily, Smith's receiving 61 percent while Hardy's obtained 70 percent. But on Wednesday came word from the city attorney that he believed the two questions had significant conflicts with each other, which meant that only the one with the most votes could prevail. So, under this reasoning, Smith's anti-benefits initiative would not go into effect. The city attorney's opinion won't be implemented immediately, however, since he wants to receive a confirmation from the attorney general's office regarding his analysis.

But even if the attorney general concurs with the city attorney, the reality is the city has handled this terribly. It was the city's responsibility to let voters know before the election that they could be tossing away their votes depending on which question they supported. As Smith noted, if voters had known this beforehand, it could have changed how people cast their ballots. Once again, Boulder City has let down its residents on the matter of its City Council's compensation.