County Commission ends longevity pay for new JPs; intense lobbying fails to sway vote

Judges lobbied hard against a proposal to eliminate longevity pay for new justices of the peace that will be sworn into office in January.

But the County Commission stood up to the pressure and approved it on Tuesday by a 5-2 vote.

Prior to the vote, which ended up attracting significant debate, County Commissioner Steve Sisolak told his colleagues that special perks for public employees, such as longevity, are "spiraling out of control."  Several justices of the peace, for example, are receiving more than $30,000 in longevity pay on top of their $154,039 base salary, Sisolak said.

"The time has come that we need to draw a line and take a stand," Sisolak said.

Commissioner Larry Brown rallied to Sisolak's side. He said the recession has given commissioners a "public mandate" to look for ways to save taxpayer money on the labor front.

The vote sets a "tone to get better control and management over future labor costs in the public sector," Brown said.

Chief Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman spoke out against eliminating longevity pay for her incoming colleagues, saying it "diminishes the value of the judiciary."

Zimmerman was one of a half-dozen judges and court officials, including Chief District Judge T. Arthur Ritchie, Jr. and Chief Court Executive Steve Grierson, who had worked behind the scenes to persuade Sisolak to withdraw his proposal.

But in the end, the intense judicial lobbying failed to sway Sisolak and company.