Commissioners put themselves in line for $6,000 bump in salary

By Conor Shine (contact)

Tuesday, March 19, 2013 | 4:35 p.m.

Clark County commissioners will have the option of taking a raise on their $72,488 salary in the coming months after a decision at their Tuesday meeting.

The issue: Commissioners discussed whether to adjust their salaries after a 2011 pay cut and several years with no salary increase.

The vote: No vote was taken. Commissioners advised staff to draft a resolution allowing a raise in July and another in January. The resolution would be considered at a future meeting.

What it means:

Each of the seven commissioners will get a raise, if they want it.

Commissioners still have to vote on a final resolution allowing two 4 percent raises over the next year, but on Tuesday they seemed amenable to the overall $6,000 bump in salary.

“I think it’s time,” Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said. “As we’ve asked our employees to step back, we’ve stepped back as a board to try and lead by example … now I think there’s some restoration that should come into play.”

Commissioner salaries have not increased since 2008. In 2011, commissioners agreed to a 2 percent pay cut that also was imposed on other county employees.

Since 2005, the salary for a commissioner has increased by 6 percent, the lowest of any county employee group, according to County Manager Don Burnette.

In 2007, the Legislature passed a bill allowing the maximum salaries of county commission boards across the state to increase by 4 percent annually over four years. Clark County commissioners approved 4 percent raises in 2007 and 2008 but declined to take them in 2009 and 2010 as the economy crumbled and the county budget shrank.

Even if the resolution is approved, commissioners won’t be required to take the raises, which would increase their annual salaries to $78,403 plus benefits.

Commissioner Mary Beth Scow, who was elected in 2010, said she intended to pass up the increases because of her short tenure on the board.