Columnist Jeff German: Let voters decide LV pay hikes

Friday, Nov. 15, 2002 | 5:45 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

LAS VEGANS DON'T have to be told that these are times of economic uncertainty.

Many people are struggling to pay their mortgages, car payments and utility bills. Some are just happy to have a job.

So when a proposal surfaces to give the mayor and city council members a 20 percent pay raise and a generous car allowance, Las Vegans are going to view it with skepticism.

City Manager Doug Selby has proposed raising the salaries of city council members from $40,664 to $48,600 and giving them a $600-a-month car allowance, bringing their total compensation package to $55,800.

The mayor's salary would jump from $53,422 to $63,180, and with a $900-a-month car allowance, his total compensation would be $73,980.

Selby says a special citizens review committee recommended the hikes four years ago, but the council never took any action.

Wonder why?

"I dusted it off and thought I'd bring it forward to see if the council had an appetite for this," Selby says.

The city manager is fortunate that he doesn't make a living as a political consultant. His proposal comes just months before Goodman and three council members, Michael McDonald, Lawrence Weekly and Gary Reese, face the voters in June.

If the council votes itself a pay raise, these four would be the first to receive it. But they'd have to get past a potentially irritated public and be re-elected first. The other three council members, Lynette Boggs McDonald, Larry Brown and Michael Mack, wouldn't be eligible for more money until after they face the voters in 2005.

The council might be able to persuade the public to support the salary increase. They haven't voted themselves a big raise since 1986. The car allowance, however, could be harder to sell. Skeptics might surmise that it's merely designed to pad the pay raise.

How many people do you know who receive $600 or $900 a month from their employers for wear and tear on a personal vehicle?

Goodman says the council members deserve the car allowance, but he won't accept one because conveniently he has just received the use of a 2003 Cadillac Seville that was donated to the city.

According to Selby the $50,000 luxury car was provided "in a gesture of generous corporate citizenship" by the owners of Cadillac of Las Vegas.

Probably after a few martinis with the mayor.

Selby says the Cadillac has all the extras Goodman will need when he hits the road, but it doesn't come with a wet bar. Still, it's another sweet deal for the happy mayor.

As for the council members, they have some soul-searching to do before deciding whether to seek the pay raise. And that should heat up the phone lines to political strategists all over town.

The plan is to let the council debate the hikes as early as Dec. 4.

Few will argue that the elected officials don't work hard in their part-time jobs. Goodman certainly does, except when he's throwing happy hour parties, pitching Bombay Sapphire Gin, filming segments for the Travel Channel and designing bobblehead dolls of himself. In the end it may turn out that Goodman and council members deserve to be paid more money.

But don't you think the voters -- not the City Council -- should make this call?

Look what happened in Boulder City in September. Angry voters there overwhelmingly decided to strip council members of the $950 a month in car and medical benefits they gave themselves.

Do Las Vegas council members want to make the same mistake?

If they desire the extra cash, they should put the matter on the spring ballot as an advisory question. Let the voters give them approval to spend $110,000 more a year to boost their salaries.

The council has waited four years before acting on the citizens committee recommendations. What's the rush now?