Judges receive 27 percent raises

Jeffrey Libby

Wednesday, June 20, 2001 | 10:27 a.m.

Henderson Municipal Court judges will receive 27 percent raises effective July 1, putting them in the same pay category as judges around the state.

The Henderson City Council approved the raises Tuesday, boosting salaries for Judges Ken Proctor and John Provost from $78,000 annually to $99,000.

Provost will receive his raise midterm. His term doesn't expire until 2003. But Assembly Bill 180, signed earlier this month by the governor, amended city charter to allow municipal judges to receive raises before standing for re-election.

City Manager Phil Speight said that in light of what other municipal judges are paid in the Las Vegas Valley and elsewhere in the state, it was easy for him to recommend the $21,000 raises.

"If you do the same work one judge does and you're paid $21,000 less, it's not fair and equitable," Speight said.

Henderson Municipal Court judges have been paid $78,000 since 1997. They each handled 12,500 cases in 2000. That was more than double the cases handled by the four Reno Municipal Court judges, who earn $99,000 annually.

Las Vegas Municipal Court judges earn $99,000 annually. North Las Vegas' only judge will earn $96,000 in pay and benefits as of July 1.

With relative parity achieved in pay for municipal judges around the state, Councilman Andy Hafen said he hoped the status quo would reign over the next few years.

"Now my hope is that we won't see these types of increases for some time," he said. "It seems cyclical. One agency gets raises and then all the others do."

Scott Davis, a Sun City Anthem resident and the lone critic of the raises, asked how the City Council could justify the hefty raises after telling residents that it plans to cut police services in the wake of a failed public safety tax initiative from the June ballot.