Editorial: Paid sick days not needed if elected

Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003 | 8:52 a.m.

Recently retired Clark County Recorder Judith Vandever wants the county to cut her a check for $19,143 worth of six leave she says she never used during eight years in office. County officials, however, are taken aback, noting that she was absent so much last year that the district attorney began investigating whether she had abandoned her office. Their problem, though, is that full-time elected officials do not have to account for their time away from office. They are eligible, just as rank-and-file employees are eligible, to accrue paid sick time and receive reimbursement at retirement. But while regular employees are subject to record keeping, full-time elected officials are on the honor system. Don Burnette, Clark County's chief administrative officer, explained it this way: "Elected officials are not accountable to us. They are accountable to the publ ic."

In our view, that should be reason enough to exclude full-time elected officials from sick-time benefits, which can be expensive. Retired Sheriff Jerry Keller, for example, recently collected more than $15,000 for unused sick time and retired District Attorney Stewart Bell has put in for more than $20,000. Full-time elected officials, moreover, do not need the benefit. They may take as many sick days as are necessary and still receive full pay. Unlike regular employees, they cannot have their pay docked if their absence extends beyond a set number of days.

In Vandever's case, the county is skeptical about the amount owed, but with no county records to compare them with, there is no way to prove that her records are not accurate. Because it cannot be documented and because it isn't needed, the sick-time perk for full-time elected officials should be abolished.