Democrats drop pay-raise bill

Kirsten Searer

Friday, April 29, 2005 | 9:35 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Assembly Democrats dropped a bill Thursday that would give state employees 5 percent cost-of-living raises in each of the next two years.

Democrats hope to give the same raise to teachers and staff members in K-12 education, said Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas.

The move comes amid reports that state employees make an average of 26 percent less than city and county employees, causing a high turnover in state government.

"They're way behind," said Morse Arberry Jr., chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

Gov. Kenny Guinn already allotted money for state employees and teachers to get 2 percent increases each year of the biennium.

Each additional percentage increase would cost about $28 million, Giunchigliani said. So the Democratic plan would cost at least $168 million above Guinn's budget.

But the state is expecting hundreds of millions in extra money and should be devoting some of it to state employees, Giunchigliani argued.

The employees got no cost of living increase in the 2004 fiscal year and a 2 percent cost of living increase this fiscal year. They did receive regular step increases in pay.

"We should be putting money in the employees," said Giunchigliani, the vice chairwoman of the Ways and Means Committee.

"The chair (Arberry) and I have always felt, at least, we need to be maintaining cost of living and we have not been doing that."

Guinn spokesman Greg Bortolin said Guinn and his advisors called legislative leaders as soon as they heard about the proposal.

Bortolin said he sensed concern about the plan pushed by Arberry and Giunchigliani.

"These are two points of view out of 63," Bortolin said.

However, both Bortolin and Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio said Thursday that they wouldn't give a final opinion on the plan until numbers come out Monday from the Economic Forum.

The report will give legislators an indication of how much money they will have to spend this year.

Raggio, R-Reno, said state workers deserve an increase in salary. But he said he won't commit to money until he knows what money has to be directed to meet the needs of the state.

Nevada Taxpayers Association president Carole Vilardo said her group would likely support a salary increase similar to a 5 percent increase in the first year of the biennium.

But two large increases might be too much, she said, pointing out that it's not just salaries that increase.

Contributions to the Public Employee Retirement System would increase as well as the costs of buying back sick and vacation time, she said.

"You need to look at the whole compensation package," she said.

Representatives of teachers and state employees said Thursday that they asked for two increases at 5 percent each.

"Now would be the time to give a decent raise to state workers," said Scott McKenzie, executive director of the State of Nevada Employees Association.

Cities and counties pay higher salaries partly because of their booming economies and partly because local government employees have the power of collective bargaining, which state employees do not have, McKenzie said.