Longevity pay still on books for county commissioners

Do as they say. Not as they do.

The paychecks of some Clark County commissioners include a salary bonus they asked employees to do without in tough economic times.

And even if commissioners wanted to change it, state law says they're entitled to it.

Commissioners are paid an annual salary of $72,488. After four years, they earn longevity pay of 2 percent for each year they have served, capped at 20 percent.

But commissioners have expressed appreciation for unions that agreed to eliminate their longevity pay - an annual raise that rewards employees for their years of service - for new hires in recent contract negotiations.

If re-elected in November, commissioners Steve Sisolak and Larry Brown would be eligible for the pay.

"It clearly sends a message to people," Sisolak said. "It's definitely symbolic. We have to be cognizant of that fact. We're asking everybody else to make concessions. We've asked so much of so many groups, I think it would only be fair to participate in that."

While they have dis­cretion over their base pay, the longevity pay component is written into state law for elected county officials throughout Nevada, meaning Clark County commissioners would have to lobby the Legislature for change or donate to charity to get rid of it.

Some have called the bonus "archaic" because the county isn't hiring as much and should not need to persuade employees to stick around in an economy with few jobs. Others characterize it as a necessity to reward loyal employees who know how county operations run.

A DROP IN THE BUCKET

County officials spend about $25 million annually on longevity pay, a recruitment tool that gives employees a 0.57 percent raise each year for their service after hitting an eight-year benchmark.

Commissioners' longevity pay - about $25,000 for the whole board - is a drop in the bucket of what the county spends overall on that bonus. The county pays about $19 million to employees with the Fire Department and the Service Employees International Union, according to the 2011 county employee compensation report. The other $6 million is broken down into other union and nonunion workers.

But unions for firefighters, district attorney investigators, park police and the deputy sheriffs have cut longevity pay for new hires.

Commissioner Mary Beth Scow, who is the newest board member, does not get the perk. Commissioners Lawrence Weekly, Tom Collins, Susan Brager and Chris Giunchigliani already receive the bonus.

"It's a little bit hypocritical," said Giunchigliani, who makes about $5,800 a year in longevity pay. "That's why I've always felt commissions and councils should be declared a full-time position and determine a proper salary to get away from longevity."

Brager, who also receives about $5,800 in longevity pay, said she donates to different organizations, but the pay helps keep salaries competitive.

"We make less in this job than management and people within our own offices," Brager said. "You're technically part-time, but it's never over. It helps with what you make and helps supplement when you give up what you're making out in the world. Some of us can't give up those outside jobs."

Brager highlighted that commissioners have asked only new employees to give up the pay.

"We're not taking away from anyone who already has it," she said.

Two years ago, commissioners voted to take away longevity pay from county constables and justices of the peace elected since 2011, but Weekly and Collins voted against that.

Collins makes about $8,700 in longevity pay, and Weekly earns about $4,300.

BUILDING A 'CULTURE OF CONSISTENCY'

Sisolak and Brown said if they're re-elected, they will donate that money to charity since they can't refuse it.

"I'll ask the county manager what I can do to separate that out of my check," Brown said. "It's not the amount, but as 'electeds,' what we do is reflective of what we want the organization to do. We have to set the standard if we want our employee groups to try to build that culture of consistency."

Brown added he believes the county should do away with longevity pay.

"Our public employee salary and benefits structure is very competitive and doesn't need longevity to get people to work here," Brown said.

A Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce study found that the state's public workers were the ninth-highest paid nationwide, receiving an average annual pay of $56,872 in 2009. That was 13 percent higher than the national average of $50,187. But the study found that Nevada ranked last in the number of public workers per capita, with 43.6 for every 1,000 residents in 2009.

The Legislature passed the law in 1973.

That was when Clark County commissioners made $8,400 a year with 1 percent longevity pay.

State Senate journals leading up to the discussion of longevity pay provide limited information about what prompted lawmakers to add that component. One senator cites a growing population in Douglas County at the time and too few government workers as justification for pay increases.

Jeff Fontaine, executive director for the Nevada Association of Counties, said recent discussion about elected county officials' pay has not addressed longevity. Rather, it has focused more on authorizing commissioners to vote on their own pay increases - something Clark County commissioners voted against in 2009.

Last year, commissioners voted to take a 2 percent pay cut.

Giunchigliani said she would consider giving up longevity pay but added that commissioners are not paid mileage and do not have sick leave.

"I earned it at this point, and I'm happy to accept it," she said. "I still have bills to pay as anybody else, and I'm not in­dependently wealthy."

Giunchigliani and Collins say longevity should be calculated as a flat rate rather than a percentage of an employee's salary.

Collins said the law should let commissioners in each county have the flexibility to change longevity pay however they see fit. But he is against cutting the bonus completely.

"I've supported change in the structure but never taking it away," Collins said.

Contact reporter Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.