County to question health chief over pay raises

Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak is demanding to know how the health district will sustain those higher wages in the face of falling property tax revenue that covers 36 percent of the agency’s funding.

The district, which offers vaccinations and clinics to the poor and monitors epidemics, is among the regional entities that Sisolak wants to scrutinize to see how their wages stack up against the county’s. If other agencies look too plush, he plans to call in their directors to justify the disparities.

Sisolak will question Dr. Lawrence Sands, the health district’s chief medical officer, about salaries and pay raises at Tuesday’s County Commission meeting.

The district employs about 530 workers, most of whom are unionized. The labor contract called for 8 percent pay raises in 2008, 5.5 percent last year and 5.5 percent this year. Those are a mixture of cost-of-living raises and step increases.

In contrast, the county struggled to close a budget shortfall that reached almost $200 million, laying off almost 300 workers in the past year. The county is bargaining with its public employees and firefighters unions to reduce compensation.

Sisolak said he was incensed that the district recently bumped up fees for clinic services and vaccinations even though it shelled out pay raises and amassed a $25 million reserve.

"I was offended," he said.

If the health district’s finances are rosy enough to cover hefty pay raises, perhaps the county, which is hurting, should reduce its $31 million in subsidies to the district, Sisolak said. If so, he said, he would make such a recommendation to fellow commissioners.

Sands declined to be interviewed for this story.

Jennifer Sizemore, the district’s spokeswoman, said the district’s board members plan to discuss on July 22 whether to reconsider the fee increases.

The health district has a yearly budget of $85.1 million. It receives money from property taxes, state and federal funding, business licensing, health inspections and vaccinations.

Sisolak got involved when he found out the district’s board had approved a new contract for Sands with a cost-of-living raise that would have lifted his $247,000 yearly salary to $255,000.

Two board members voted against the raise: Henderson City Councilwoman Kathleen Boutin, who is Sisolak’s girlfriend, and Las Vegas Councilman Steve Ross. Sands later turned down the raise.

The meeting brought attention to the pay raises all the district’s employees receive, Sizemore said. Sands’ contract was set up so that his salary increase mirrored those of rank-and-file employees.

Like them, he was eligible to receive a 3 percent cost-of-living raise and step increases of 2.5 percent to 5 percent, she said, adding that he always declined the step increases.

The district hasn’t calculated what the employees’ pay raises for 2010 will total, Sizemore said. But its payroll costs will drop to $38.3 million from $40.2 million in 2009, in large part because it has kept about 60 jobs vacant, she said.

Sisolak said that if the district can afford the pay raises, it shouldn’t impose higher vaccination and clinic fees on low-income residents, the district’s core clientele.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, the district board’s chairwoman, agreed. If she hadn’t been out of town on vacation, she said, she would have voted against raising the fees.

"I would’ve argued this is not the right time to do a fee increase," she said.

But Sizemore said some of the higher fees were necessary so that the district can get the full federal reimbursement available and cover the rising cost of vaccines and other supplies.

Those who can’t afford the shots still will get them, either for free or at a lower price, she said. Other patients are covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurers.

A pneumonia shot, for example, will jump to $57 from $45.

The increased fees are meant to pay the cost of delivering services and not to generate revenue to cover workers’ wages, Sizemore said.

As for the pay raises, district officials asked the Service Employees International Union to open the contract a few months ago and discuss reducing compensation, Sizemore said.

Union leaders refused, saying the district, unlike the county, had ample money to cover the contract, she said.

SEIU spokeswoman Amber Lopez Lasater said the union objected to the district proposing a 20 percent budget reduction that would have affected workers.

"Our analysis showed that the health district was fiscally solvent," Lopez Lasater said.

Scott Weiss, the health district’s administrative director, said the district is expected to have enough money in 2011 to pay for its operations.

But he takes Sisolak’s concerns about waning tax revenue seriously.

"We are mindful that our property tax revenue continues to decline, and we should be conscious of that as we go forward," Weiss said.

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.