NLV city officials won’t give themselves a raise for now

In the spirit of sacrificing during tough budget times, North Las Vegas City Council members decided not to give themselves a raise this year or next.

But they will keep their monthly car allowances.

Mayor Shari Buck initiated the move to temporarily do away with cost-of-living raises for the council, which it unanimously approved Wednesday evening.

Buck said that if the city expects its employees to make sacrifices, so should the council.

"It's only fair," she said. "This is only a little droplet, but it is in the spirit of helping the city."

The part-time council members' annual salary increases are tied to the consumer price index and would have equaled 2.3 percent this year, said Maryann Ustick, acting city manager. Doing away with that increase saves the city about $5,100 this fiscal year.

Council members' car allowances total $31,200 a year. Buck gets a monthly car allowance of $600, while the city's other council members get $500.

The city's two municipal judges also get $500 a month.

Ustick said the allowances help defray costs council members incur driving to meetings around the valley.

"Their job is to be out," she said. "They go to a zillion meetings in the community."

Buck said the allowances help pay for gasoline and wear and tear on personal vehicles. She said that while her job as mayor is considered part time, she treats it as a full-time job.

"I don't look at it (the car allowance) as an extra perk," she said. "It's there to help maintain my vehicle and get me to those meetings."

By comparison, the city of Las Vegas, which has more employees and a bigger budget, spends $126,000 a year on car allowances of $500 or $600 for 20 high-ranking employees, including City Manager Betsy Fretwell and City Attorney Brad Jerbic.

The city may be looking at those allowances as a potential source of savings as it prepares next year's budget, said Jace Radke, a city spokesman.

He noted that the city's executive employees have seen their pay remain flat for the past three years to help balance the city's budget. Those employees also are not paid overtime, aren't eligible for cost-of-living increases, and have not received merit raises or bonuses since 2008, he said.

Clark County, which has the most employees and largest budget among local governments, spends $226,800 a year on car allowances of $400 to $600 a month for 38 high-ranking employees, including County Manager Virginia Valentine and Larry Lomax, the county's registrar of voters.

Until the mid-1980s, the county maintained vehicles for use by department managers, said Erik Pappa, a county spokesman. But an analysis indicated it was more cost-effective to provide a car allowance, he said. The county has reduced the number of allowances over the past few years, he said.

Henderson stopped paying car allowances as part of its first round of budget cuts in 2008. Before that, the allowances went to elected officials and top administrators, 62 people in all, from the city manager to the assistant directors of various departments. Henderson spokeswoman Kathleen Richards said eliminating that perk has saved the city about $350,000 a year.

Review-Journal writer Henry Brean contributed to this report. Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@
reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.