Goodman strikes council pay hikes from agenda

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2002 | 11:23 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman made two things clear Wednesday.

First, he said the members of the Las Vegas City Council deserve raises for the amount and quality of work they do.

Second, he refused to put them in a position to even vote on the matter and give critics a chance to use it against them come re-election time.

"I will not put my council in harm's way," Goodman said before striking the matter from the agenda and calling for the city staff to study the feasibility of putting the issues of raises and a proposed car allowance on the spring municipal elections ballot.

The council voted unanimously to support Goodman's motion.

As a result of Goodman's action, the current council members -- none of whom asked for the raise -- were spared from declaring their position on the proposal submitted by City Manager Doug Selby, which was based on a 1998 citizens committee report that had recommended the raises.

However, prior to Goodman's action, councilmen Gary Reese and Michael McDonald said they could not support the proposed ordinance. Reese, who operates a barber shop, said he didn't even know what the compensation was for city councilmen when he first ran for office.

"I make jokes that I get paid 13 cents an hour at my second job," Reese said.

McDonald said it is customary to ask your boss for a raise "and my boss is the residents of Ward 1. ... I would support a referendum. Let the people decide."

Goodman said his council "works like dogs and sacrifices their home life."

He said he is "blessed" because he did well as an attorney before becoming mayor so a pay hike is not an issue for him.

"The truth of the matter is they (voters) get what they pay for," Goodman said, noting the next mayor may not be independently wealthy. "It is not just the wealthy who should run for office."

The bottom line, he said, is that cynical people would remember only that "these guys voted themselves a raise. It's a darn shame. My council deserves a lot more."

The current mayor and council members would not have benefited from the raise until after their next elections -- if they won.

Council members currently receive $40,664 annually and would have received an additional $8,000 under the proposal. They also would have received an additional $7,200 from a $600-a-month car allowance. The mayor currently receives $53,422 annually and would have received an additional $9,700. The mayor's annual car allowance would be $10,800 under the proposal.

The council and mayor posts are considered part time, though the 1998 citizens' committee study found that council members worked about 51 hours a week at their elected posts.

Goodman and Councilmen Lawrence Weekly, McDonald and Reese are up for re-election next year. Council members Lynette Boggs McDonald, Larry Brown and Michael Mack will not run again until April 2005.

Selby said the raise is overdue because the council has not received one in 16 years, other than minimal cost of living adjustments.

The last council-voted raise came in 1986, when council salaries climbed from $15,000 to $24,500 and the mayor's salary went from $24,500 to $33,500.