EDITORIAL: Benefits unheard of for those who must pay the bills

It’s difficult to weep for Southern Nevada local governments as they grapple with budget gaps while so cavalierly handling taxpayer funds.

Clark County and the city of Las Vegas revealed this month that they face multimillion-dollar deficits as they close the fiscal year on June 1. The county is running a total of $54 million short for both fiscal 2025 and 2026. The city, meanwhile, is down $85.3 million for fiscal 2025.

Notably, both governments were recently on the losing end of long-running legal battles involving ill-fated and expensive efforts to block developers from building on their own property. Clark County coughed up $80 million to settle a dispute involving a housing project near Red Rock Canyon, while the city ate $636 million for refusing to approve a development on the now defunct Badlands Golf Course.

These were disputes in which arrogant public officials and bureaucrats grossly miscalculated. Yet only local taxpayers suffer the consequences.

Such disdain for the taxpayers can also be seen in the overly generous benefits offered many local government workers that are unheard of for the private-sector schlubs forced to pay the tab. Government employment often comes with ironclad job security, but lesser known advantages also abound.

Start with defined benefit pensions that allow Nevada’s government workers to retire at a relatively young age and collect three-quarters of their highest earning years for the rest of their lives — all while unfunded liabilities for public retirement programs threaten some jurisdictions with bankruptcy. Throw in perks such as longevity pay and severance pay, lavish sick pay and vacation pay buyouts and regular overtime and many public-sector workers are able to cash in for tens of thousands of dollars when they opt to quit or retire.

Review-Journal reporter Mary Hynes reported this month that Clark County “wages may get a boost from 100-plus different types of additional pay beyond regular pay.” For instance, Steve Parrish, general manager and chief engineer for the Regional Flood Control District, recently pocketed $23,000 in sold back vacation and sick leave while also earning $49,000 in longevity pay.

And who could forget that the city of Las Vegas spent 90 percent of the $119 million it received in pandemic relief from the federal government on government worker compensation?

Officials with both the city and county insist that they’ll weather the fiscal storm through more prudent management of public resources. Translation: The taxpayers will pay the price while elected officials and public servants carry on with business as usual.