Wednesday, May 12, 2004 | 10:47 a.m.
Clark County would cut 10 percent of its management jobs under a proposed budget unveiled by the county manager Tuesday.
Clark County Manager Thom Reilly said the elimination of 20 managers from a pool of about 200 would free up enough funds to hire 40 new rank-and-file employees in critically needed areas, including attorneys and staff for the District Attorney's Office, District Court, Child Protective Services and the Public Defender's Office.
Reilly, Finance Director George Stevens and Administrative Services Director Don Burnette declined to identify who would be fired under the proposal and who would be given an opportunity to apply for a lesser position. They said not all the employees to be terminated had received direct word yet.
The move comes as the county struggles to meet critical needs with a limited budget. Through the last several months top county managers, including Reilly, met with department heads who were required to justify every new staff position requested. The process produced 383 priority positions, but available revenue falls far short of the ability to fund those jobs.
Tax-revenue growth and the job cuts will fund a total of 109 new positions, including 69 produced by trimming the Metropolitan Police Department's annual funding request by $4.5 million.
Reilly said the pared-down list of new positions represents a ranking of the priorities.
"We made a conscious decision that the greater need right now is in the direct-line positions," that is, positions dealing directly with the public, and usually in a public safety or law-enforcement capacity, he said.
The budget proposal continues a trend that has focused more of the county's available resources on public safety for several years. Burnette said that during the past four or five years, about half of the county's 38 departments have received no new staff at all, even as their workloads increase with the growth in population.
Under the budget proposal, which goes to the Clark County Commission for action on Monday, the Clark County Fire Department would get 21 new positions, 17 of them for a new fire station in Summerlin; the Public Defender's Office would get 22 new positions; Family Services, which includes Child Protective Services, would get 22 new positions; District Court would get seven new hires; Justice Court would have 11 new positions;
Reilly said some of the new positions are needed to head off constitutional issues posed by the legal representation of indigent people charged with crimes, so new Public Defender positions are called for. Positions with Child Protective Services were needed both to ensure continued access to federal funding and because of a growing caseload, he said.
"The numbers have just been overwhelming," Reilly said of Child Protective Services, an agency that provides critical intervention and protection for young people.
The trio revisited a contentious issue that has divided the county manager's office and the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 4,400 county rank-and-file employees.
Reilly, Stevens and Burnette argue that the fundamental financial illness at the county is the growth of the workers' wages and benefits by about 9 percent annually. The county's revenue is growing too, but by only 8 percent a year. The disparity is whittling away the county's ability to hire new employees fast enough to keep pace with population growth.
In 1995, the county had 3.4 employees for every 1,000 residents. In 2004, the ratio had dropped to 2.6 employees per 1,000, according to the county's analysis.
"There has to be a balance between salaries and our ability to deliver services," Reilly said.
Union officials did not return phone calls Tuesday evening, but have in the past disputed the county management's financial arguments. Cartoons and flyers distributed by county employees have directly attacked Reilly.
Reilly said he has met with the union and wants to receive any suggestion for improving the county's financial situation. However, he takes exception to some of the claims the union has made.
"To suggest that they're not making a living wage is just false," Reilly said.
Reilly said the decision to fire employees was difficult.
"Some of these individuals have been with us 20, 25, 30 years," he said.
A dozen of the employees in what the county brass called "competitive service positions" can reapply for rank-and-file jobs at the county, effectively accepting a demotion, Reilly said.
"In almost every case we will identify a position they can go to," he said.
Burnette said the competitively hired employees have some fallback positions, but those higher up the management ladder may not.
"At-will" managers, including division heads and assistant department heads, are appointed by the department heads and are "not entitled to anything," Burnette said.
They could still apply for open jobs, but would receive substantial pay cuts even if they could get the jobs, he said. Those who could not get a new position at the county would receive a severance package that includes 12 months of health benefits and eight weeks of salary.
The trio of top county managers said the cuts would affect 12 of the county's 38 departments, mostly at the mid-management level. Burnette said the job cuts are designed to avoid adverse affects on services, but it will require the remaining managers to assume additional responsibilities.
Reilly, Stevens and Burnette are keeping their jobs and won't be on the layoff list, they said.
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