Henderson clerk gets 8 percent raise

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2003 | 11:03 a.m.

The Henderson City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an 8 percent raise for City Clerk Monica Simmons, pushing her salary to about $127,769 a year.

"Our evaluation is the highest we could give her," Mayor Jim Gibson said of Simmons following a closed-door evaluation of the clerk. Councilman Jack Clark said the city clerk's office is doing more now than a year ago.

During the past year Simmons' department began handling bilingual ballots and other election materials, began taking passport applications and brought more legislative and election information to the city's website.

Simmons, who has an associate's degree in science from the Community College of Southern Nevada and is a certified municipal clerk, also receives a $450 monthly car allowance, which provides her with an additional $5,400 annually.

The council also unanimously voted to give Simmons, City Manager Phil Speight and City Attorney Shauna Hughes the same cost-of-living raise that city union employees will receive in July. The amount of that raise is contingent upon negotiations with the police and firefighters unions.

Simmons' 8 percent raise is effective immediately. Before the raise, Simmons' annual salary was $118,304. The raise is worth about $9,464 a year.

North Las Vegas City Clerk Eileen Sevigny's annual salary is $129,431, city spokeswoman Brenda Johnson said. Sevigny, who does not have a college degree but is a certified municipal clerk, does not receive a car allowance.

Las Vegas City Clerk Roni Ronemus, who has an associate's degree in business from Cabrillo College in Southern California and is a certified municipal clerk, earns $112,484 in base salary plus longevity pay. She also receives a $400 a month car allowance and a $150 a month medical benefit that adds $6,600 to her annual pay.

The North Las Vegas clerk is hired by the city manager; Henderson's is hired by the City Council; and city clerk in Las Vegas is hired by the city manager and is ratified by the City Council.

The governments in Henderson and North Las Vegas both have four-day workweeks. Las Vegas has a five-day work week.

It had been suggested Simmons get a 10 percent raise, but Gibson said the council should take into account the difficult economic times and settle for the 8 percent raise.

"In this day and time we might be doing a favor for your bank account, but we're not doing you a favor with public opinion," Gibson said.

This was the third straight year Simmons received an 8 percent raise.

Simmons, 45, oversees a staff of 24 and has been the city clerk since 1998, when her salary was $73,687 a year. Before then Simmons was the legal administrator for the city attorney. She started working for the city in 1979 as an administrative legal secretary.