New water district labor deal ‘sends bad message,’ county official says

Las Vegas Valley Water District chief Pat Mulroy said Tuesday that the utility's new collective bargaining agreements are filled with concessions that will save more than $5 million.

Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak offered a different take, slamming the new labor contracts as a distasteful giveaway to public employees in the midst of record private-sector unemployment.

Sisolak cast the only vote against the new five-year deal, which has been ratified by the water district's various bargaining units.

Under the agreement, the district's roughly 1,400 staff members will not receive cost-of-living raises during the current fiscal year, but they will be eligible for annual increases of up to 3 percent over the next four years, depending on economic conditions.

Sisolak said granting any kind of cost-of-living increase "sends a bad message at this time of economic hardship," when other county workers are being asked to hold the line or make concessions.

And with a new rate hike for water customers set to take effect in 10 days, the timing couldn't be worse, he said.

Starting Jan. 1, most residential customers will see a $3 to $4 bump in their average bill, as the district for the second year in a row increases its monthly service charge and passes through a rate hike on wholesale water supplied by the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

The terms of the new five-year agreement are identical for all of the district's bargaining agreements, which agreed to eliminate longevity pay for employees hired after Jan. 1 and significantly reduce benefits such as tuition reimbursement.

The district also will institute a modest voluntary buyout program for employees who are eligible to retire with at least 15 years of service.

In response to Sisolak's concerns, Mulroy pledged to see to it that the district's total personnel costs would not go up in the coming budget year.

Mulroy also noted that the district's five-person executive team, of which she is the highest-ranking member, will not be eligible for any cost-of-living raises over the next five years.

Sisolak countered with research showing that about 200 district employees receive more than $150,000 in wages and benefits each year, including about 50 people whose compensation tops $200,000. "And we took five of them out of the cost-of-living raises?" he said.

The County Commission, which serves as the water district's board of directors, was poised to approve the new collective bargaining agreements two weeks ago, but Sisolak blocked the vote because no public hearing was held as required by state law.

No one in the audience spoke during Tuesday's public hearing on the labor deals.

Over the past two years, the valley's largest water utility has cut costs and scaled back its staff in response to a decline in water demand and in new connections to the system.

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.