County board to vote on pay raises

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, July 1, 2003 | 11:25 a.m.

The Clark County Commission was expected to vote today on its first base pay raise since 1995, but some individual commissioners have been receiving raises for years.

State law allows commissioners to receive 2 percent longevity raises every year after they have spent four years in office. The maximum pay including the longevity raises is capped at 20 percent of the base pay.

On the Clark County Commission, where the base pay is $54,000 a year, Commissioners Bruce Woodbury, who joined the board in 1981, and Yvonne Atkinson Gates, first elected in 1992, have both topped out with a $64,800 annual salary.

Commissioner Myrna Williams, first elected in 1994, is just behind them at $62,640, and Commission Chairwoman Mary Kincaid-Chauncey, elected in 1996, makes $60,480 a year.

The three relative newcomers to the commission, Chip Maxfield, Mark James and Rory Reid, are paid $54,000 a year.

The pay for county commissioners, which is considered a part-time job, has traditionally been set by the state Legislature. However, this year legislators passed that job on to the commissioners, but limited how much they could raise their pay, at 26.65 percent. That has left county commissions throughout the state considering pay raises for themselves.

Carole Vilardo, president of the Nevada Taxpayers Association, said that while the group has no formal position on whether the raises are justified, she thinks the decision is being made by the right elected officials.

By having commissioners decide their own raises, much like city councils do, they can be held accountable by the voters for their decisions, Vilardo said.

"I prefer that they're setting their salaries at the local level. It gives the people a chance to voice their opinion -- when they vote," Vilardo said. "It's a much better process."

Last week the Washoe County commissioners raised their base pay from $39,600 a year to $48,800 annually as of today. On Jan. 1 their base pay will rise to $50,153, which is their new ceiling.

Any increase to the base pay would similarly increase the top of the commissioners' pay scale when adding in longevity raises.

For example, if the commissioners voted themselves the full 26.65 percent raise in base pay, Woodbury's and Gates' salaries would rise to $82,069 a year.

If commissioners give themselves the full 26.65 percent raise, it would bring base pay to $68,391 annually.

Woodbury said Monday he still plans to suggest the commissioners grant themselves raises, but do so in phases over the next two or three years.

He said he will recommend the commissioners raise their salaries by 8 percent to 10 percent effective immediately, with additional raises coming either annually or semi-annually for two to three years until they reach the limit set by the Legislature.

Woodbury said he doesn't need the pay raise personally, but he thinks the pay needs to be increased so more people will be able to afford to be commissioners, and not just those financially well off.

"My thinking is the base salary ought to be in the range of $75,000 to $80,000," Woodbury said.

He also pointed to Washoe commissioners' salaries as evidence the Clark County commissioners deserve more because they govern a larger population and deal with a larger budget.

"The pay should be commensurate with the responsibility," Woodbury said.

Woodbury said the longevity pay, like the base pay, is set by the state and not controlled by county officials. Perhaps the longevity raises were intended to compensate commissioners for some of the fringe benefits such as car allowances that other elected officials receive but commissioners do not, he said.

The commissioners are not paid any additional money for serving on the other boards they are required to represent, such as the Las Vegas Valley Water District, and while they could get reimbursed for mileage, none of the commissioners asks for such a reimbursement, Woodbury and a county spokeswoman said.

Last week Kincaid-Chauncey said she thinks a majority of the commissioners will support raising their own pay, but by exactly how much is still to be determined. Williams also said she would probably support a raise.

Reid and James said they hadn't decided yet on the matter, and Gates and Maxfield did not return messages seeking comment.

Sun reporter

Mary Manning contributed to this story.