Panel recommends hike in LVCVA execs’ pay

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2005 | 11:12 a.m.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's compensation committee has recommended increasing the range of executive salaries by an average of 14 percent.

The four-member committee will forward the proposed new salary ranges to the full LVCVA board of directors for consideration Feb. 8.

The committee opted not to evaluate LVCVA President and Chief Executive Rossi Ralenkotter or recommend a salary increase for him. Ralenkotter took over for former CEO Manny Cortez last summer and has held the top post for less than a year.

The committee agreed to evaluate Ralenkotter and other LVCVA executives and consider raises in July.

But if the LVCVA board approves the compensation committee's recommendations, executives would be eligible for higher pay.

Mark Olson, vice president of human resources for the LVCVA, said two independent compensation studies indicated the organization's executives were underpaid based on comparisons with other convention and visitor authority boards nationwide.

The decision to raise the salary range by 14 percent was based on a recommendation in one of those studies. Olson said LVCVA executive pay has fallen below those of comparative organizations because pay ranges haven't been changed since 1998. The board also eliminated longevity bonuses in 1996 and cost-of-living increases have averaged only 2.9 percent over the past nine years, he said.

While the compensation range would increase by 14 percent overall, the range for the top executive would climb 28 percent under the proposal. Under current compensation policies, Ralenkotter, who makes $225,000 a year plus vehicle allowance and performance bonuses, is paid at a range from $156,000 a year to $250,380 a year. Under the proposed increase, the range would go from $214,400 a year to $321,600 a year.

In addition to recommending the higher salary ranges, the compensation committee also accepted Ralenkotter's 2005 goals and objectives, some of which were outlined in his Vision Plan. Ralenkotter's 2005 goals: