Commissioners approve raises

Clark County commissioners decided Tuesday to give themselves a raise.

Their annual salaries will rise from $72,488 to $80,008 by January.

The vote was 5-2, with Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak and Commissioner Larry Brown voting against the increases.

The salaries for commissioners will increase by giving commissioners the annual 4 percent pay raises that were planned for 2009 and 2010. Those raises were suspended as the economy tanked.

The raises also restore a 2 percent pay cut that commissioners decided to take in 2011.

The pay increase isn’t immediate. Under the plan, commissioner salaries will increase in July to $76,930. That’s the level their pay would have increased to in 2009 without the recession.

In January, commissioner pay will increase to $80,008, the 2010 salary level.

The 2009 and 2010 salary levels for commissioners were approved and scheduled in 2007.

The salary schedule has a provision that allows commissioners to opt out of raises if they desire.