Pay for county officials debated

The head of the Nevada Association of Counties said Monday pay raises averaging more than 30 percent for county elected officials aren't as high as they seem.

Bob Hadfield told the Assembly Government Affairs Committee those officials haven't had a raise since 1995.

"We normally don't go eight years without a raise," he said. "It didn't happen last session. We are playing catch-up."

But Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-North Las Vegas, said he has problems -- particularly with the more than $26,000 pay hike included for Clark County commissioners -- because they have been unable to work out a new contract with county classified employees for months.

"It's sort of arrogant -- inconsiderate -- to debate this while those employees in Clark County are working without a contract," he said.

Assemblyman Tom Collins, D-Las Vegas, said he believes the pay raises are needed: "It's a simple bill that's overdue."

He said he has a way around Williams' problem.

"Out of expediency we should just delete the Clark County Commission from this bill and pass it," he said.

"I second that," said Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas, a Clark County employee.

Carson City Clerk-Recorder Alan Glover, representing clerks, treasurers and recorders around the state, pointed out that those officials along with district attorneys, assessors and sheriffs are different from commissioners.

"Most of us are career public employees," he said. "We work directly for the voters and they can hire and fire us.

"A lot of the problems this Legislature has had over the years are with the county commissioners," he said pointing out that those are political positions while the other county offices are full-time professional positions.

And Hadfield said the increases are based on the average increase in what private companies in Nevada pay over that same period of time.

AB66 would raise pay for Carson City supervisors from $18,000 a year to $24,554. That also would be the pay rate for Douglas, Lyon and Churchill County commissioners. Storey County commissioners would rise from $15,240 a year to $20,789.

Hadfield told lawmakers the counties are grouped in different pay scales according to the workload. That system creates six pay classes with Clark alone in the top group and Washoe by itself in the second. Carson, Douglas and Lyon counties area all in the third along with Churchill, Elko, Humboldt and Nye.

The pay for district attorneys in Carson, Douglas, Lyon and Churchill would increase from $72,360 to $98,707. Sheriffs in those counties would increase from $60,000 to $81,846. Clerks, assessors, recorders and treasurers would go from $51,360 to $70,060.

In Storey, the district attorney would increase from $47,880 to $82,256 in recognition of the growing workload in Virginia City. The sheriff would get a base of $58,929 -- up from $43,200. And the other officials would increase from $33,600 to $52,282.

Those are base pay numbers for newly elected officials. They receive longevity pay increases after each successive election.

The committee took no action on AB66.