Responsible police contracts

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 | 2:07 a.m.

The state Senate Government Affairs Committee completely ignored the issues of accountability and fiscal responsibility Friday. That’s when it approved an amendment that would prohibit Clark County and Las Vegas from participating in negotiations with the union that represents Metro Police officers.

As reported in Saturday’s Las Vegas Sun by David McGrath Schwartz and Joe Schoenmann, the committee wants only the sheriff to negotiate with the Police Protective Association on labor agreements.

David Kallas, who introduced the amendment as the union’s director of government affairs, argued that excluding the city and county from negotiations would eliminate bureaucracy that can impede a deal. But Kallas and the committee conveniently forget that it is the city and county that fund the police department.

It is imperative that the city and county retain their roles in labor negotiations, just like anyone else who pays salaries. It is befuddling that committee members believe taxpayers should have no seat at the table. What were the senators thinking?

Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak hit the nail on the head when he told the Sun: “I have the utmost respect for the sheriff and he knows his department well, but he doesn’t know what the other departments are doing or going through.”

If the city and county are bound to fund pay hikes that are negotiated only between the sheriff and the union, the local governments might be forced to cut other vital programs or services to make up the difference. The sheriff would certainly be motivated to approve generous salary increases because that would help morale and make his job easier.

The Nevada Legislature should kill this misguided amendment and retain sanity in the labor negotiation process by ensuring that taxpayer representatives in the city and county are active participants.