Which Henderson city government employees made the most?

Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series of stories gleaned from government compensation data that is not readily available to the public.

Fired or now-retired officials were among the top paid Henderson city government employees last year, data shows.

Hollie Chadwick, fired as police chief in March, ranked among the top 10 employees in terms of total pay and benefits, according to compensation data obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal from the city through a public records request. Chadwick recently announced she is running for mayor.

The Henderson Fire Department referenced on social media in September the retirement of Fire Chief Shawn White, another top paid employee, after 25 years with the department. In October, the city of Celina, Texas, announced his appointment as its new fire chief.

Henderson’s new fire chief, Scott Vivier, formerly deputy fire chief, also ranked among the city’s highest paid.

White’s pay was boosted by cashing out unused sick and vacation leave upon retiring. So, too, were the wages of Robert Herr, an assistant city manager whose retirement was the subject of a social media post in July by Mayor Michelle Romano.

Local governments in Southern Nevada have adopted policies allowing generous accrual of paid leave, which employees can cash out when they stop working at their agency.

And as with other local governments, Henderson employees also can sell back a limited number of hours of unused paid leave each year, usually 38 hours, according to Henderson spokesperson Madeleine Skains.

Last year, then-City Manager Richard Derrick, who sold back some of his paid time off, was the highest paid employee in the city. His pay was boosted by a bonus as well as performance pay. The latter is a lump sum paid in lieu of an annual raise when an employee’s salary exceeds the pay range for the position, Skains said.

In January, Derrick retired after 26 years with the city.

With Derrick’s retirement, Assistant City Manager Stephanie Garcia-Vause was promoted to city manager. Last year, she sold back paid time off and also received performance pay.

Some fire and police employees saw their pay significantly increased by overtime or call-back pay, the latter a higher rate of pay earned when an employee is called back to duty on an unscheduled basis during time off.

Data shows more than 4,000 people received pay from the city last year, including full-time, part-time and temporary employees, and those who worked only a portion of the year. The lowest paid earned $9.60, while roughly 1,200 employees made at least $100,000 in wages, excluding benefits.

For the approximate 2,600 employees making at least $20,000 in wages alone, the average pay was $101,800.

According to Census data, the per capita wage in Henderson, with a population of more than 350,000, was about $49,100 in 2023, while the average household income was $88,700.

Henderson employees’ total compensation was heightened by the benefit of city contributions to the Public Employees Retirement System, or PERS, a pension program in Nevada for government employees.

The Henderson employees receiving the most in total compensation in 2024 were the following:

1. Richard Derrick, city manager/CEO

Total pay $385,400, including performance pay of $10,850, a $15,000 bonus, and $36,700 in sold-back paid time off. Total pay and benefits $516,100.

2. Shawn White, fire chief

Total pay $372,600, including $108,200 in cashed-out sick leave and $60,000 in cashed-out vacation. Total pay and benefits $488,400.

3. Todd Ford, Fire Department medical services officer

Total pay $313,600, including $160,400 in overtime and $3,600 in call-back pay. Total pay and benefits $400,300.

4. Nicholas Vaskov, city attorney

Total pay $289,900, including $18,500 in sold-back paid time off. Total pay and benefits $395,800.

5. Robert Herr, chief infrastructure officer/assistant city manager

Total pay $326,800, including $112,600 in cashed-out sick leave and $62,600 in cashed-out vacation. Total pay and benefits $387,700.

6. Hollie Chadwick, chief of police

Total pay $246,400, including $13,900 in sold-back paid time off. Total pay and benefits $378,900.

7. Robert Okumura, fire captain

Total pay $286,200, including $115,900 in overtime and $11,300 in call-back pay. Total pay and benefits $376,500.

8. Scott Vivier, fire chief, deputy fire chief

Total pay $243,100, including a bonus of $11,000 and $13,400 in sold-back paid time off. Total pay and benefits $368,700.

9. Stephanie Garcia-Vause, chief operating officer/assistant city manager

Total pay $269,300, including $19,000 in sold-back paid time off and $5,000 in performance pay. Total pay and benefits $367,200.

10. Kyle Slattery, police sergeant

Total pay $231,900, including $28,400 in overtime and $45,300 in call-back pay. Total pay and benefits $360,400.

Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on X. Hynes is a member of the Review-Journal’s investigative team, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes wrongdoing.