City Council pay raises

By a 6-1 vote, the Las Vegas City Council last week granted whopping raises to future members of the Las Vegas City Council -- and to future mayors, who also sit as members of the council.

Council salaries will leap by 48 percent, from $46,681 to $69, 247. The mayoralty -- now redefined as a full-time job -- will double in pay, from $61,330 to $124,644, and will also feature a new $600 monthly car allowance.

The changes will take effect after the next set of staggered elections intervene, meaning in 2009 or 2011, depending on the council ward. Thus, no council member voted directly for his own raise.

It's probably no coincidence that the hikes are unlikely to directly affect any individuals who voted for them -- barring a successful lawsuit to again delay the long-stymied voter mandate for term limits.

Mayor Oscar Goodman and Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese are barred from seeking re-election by current term limit law. Councilman Larry Brown -- the sole "no" vote, since he said he would endorse the higher salaries only if the council posts were also made full-time -- has announced plans to run for the County Commission, instead.

It's easier to vote for such pay hikes -- which mean part-time city councilmen will now receive two to three times what an average voter takes home for a full-time job -- if you're no longer going to be around the kitchen to take the heat.

Nonetheless, to that extent, the council members did the right thing this time. They stood up, gave their reasons why they believe the jobs should pay more (or not), and cast their votes in public, on the record.

That's the way it ought to be done.

Which is why these same elected officials deserve no such praise for the sneaky, outrageous way they arranged for subsequent council raises to take effect.

As predicted, in the same vote, council members tied future compensation for these offices at 90 percent of the compensation that the Legislature stipulates for County Commission members -- except for the mayor, who'll earn 180 percent of County Commissioner pay.

Since the Legislature sometimes bumps County Commission pay, City Council raises will now tag along like skateboarder Marty McFly hanging onto the bumper of someone else's car. Future raises will be automatic. Should voters ever protest, council members will put on their best innocent mugs and simper, "Who, us? That was none of our doing; it was all automatic."

In a fast-growing town, sometimes public officials deserve raises. But they should have the courage to state why, and to vote them up or down in the light of day, allowing voters to hold them accountable the next time they venture to the polls.

In Las Vegas, unless and until this scurrilous "linkage" is repealed, that will never happen again.