Clark County Manager Thom Reilly received accolades and a 5 percent raise from commissioners Tuesday, placing him in the middle of the pack of the highest-paid local government leaders statewide.
The 5 percent raise and a cost-of-living increase of 2 percent boosts Reilly's annual salary to $199,500.
Advertisement
The commissioners said they offered Reilly a more generous increase, but he turned it down, citing the county's tight budget.
"He's always offered more money and he says 'no,' " said Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates. "We should be paying him more, but I applaud him for saying we have to stick within our means."
Since he was hired in August 2001, Reilly has insisted that his review be conducted in public rather than in a private personnel session. Commissioners took less than five minutes to praise Reilly and move on to other county issues.
"You're doing an outstanding job," Commissioner Bruce Woodbury said.
Reilly's salary is higher than the managers of the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Washoe County. But it is considerably less than leaders of other public agencies. Henderson City Manager Phil Speight and Reno City Manager Charles McNeely oversee about 2,000 employees and are paid more than $200,000 annually. Reilly oversees 12,000 employees.
Don Kwalick, the chief health officer of the Southern Nevada Health District, is the highest paid manager of a local public agency. Kwalick oversees 546 employees and is paid $302,000.
"I appreciate the increase," Reilly said. "I've been making a big issue of salaries and under no circumstances did I want to receive a larger increase than our employees."
Members of the Service Employees International Union will receive 4 percent raises and a 3 percent cost-of-living boost. They are also eligible for a 5 percent merit increase.
Unlike county employees, Reilly's 2 percent cost-of-living increase is a one-time bonus and will not be included in his base pay.
