Court administrator says he has earned every penny of his salary

Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007 | 7:32 a.m.

Clark County Court Administrator Chuck Short's $172,579 salary in 2006 placed him 43rd among the county's 7,255 employees.

And like the region's other top-paid public workers, Short, relying on familiar arguments - the responsibility is big, the hours long, the staff short - does not view his salary as high.

"I am in charge of the safe and effective operation of the court system in Southern Nevada," said Short, who answers to 47 District and Justice Court judges and is in charge of more than 700 employees.

"There is pressure and responsibility for ensuring the safety of thousands of people every day. I don't think you can pay someone enough for that."

Short said he works 60 to 70 hours weekly, is on call around the clock and, because he is in management, does not earn overtime.

He also argues that the county has gotten good return on his salary, which he said is slightly above average for court administrators.

In the past two years Short has taken over court administration duties for the Justice Court and for the District Court Clerk's office with no corresponding raise in pay.

Two years ago Justice Court brought in $16 million in annual traffic violation fines, criminal misdemeanor fines and fees and civil filing fees. Under Short's watch that figure has risen to $22 million a year.

The public sector, Short said, has to offer competitive salaries or good workers will be lost to other public or private jobs. He said he has rejected two job offers - one public, one private - over the past year.

"When I got promoted to court administrator in 1994, my wife said, 'Nice going honey - they gave you a 10 percent raise and increased your hours by 50 percent,' " Short said.

Clark County Public Defender Phil Kohn, who oversees a staff of 105, offers a similar defense of his $174,238 salary, which in 2006 made him the county's 38th highest paid employee.

"I suspect a managing partner in a private-sector firm that has 105 people would earn two or three times what I make," Kohn said.

Kohn said it is not unusual for new lawyers fresh out of law school to earn starting salaries of $100,000 with private firms. His department's starting annual salary is $61,000.

"Both us and the district attorney's office have a real tough time competing for the best and brightest people, and it's hard to keep good lawyers," Kohn said. "We are head-hunted by big and small firms."