Sunday, June 17, 2007 | 7:02 a.m.
Rare is the job that allows you to set your own salary.
But Clark County commissioners will have an opportunity to do just that Tuesday.
Although the decision might be a no-brainer for the average Joe, it comes with political implications that could haunt commissioners down the road.
The proposal commissioners will consider is a 16 percent pay boost over the next four years. State lawmakers authorized commissioners to increase their base salaries in 4 percent annual increments from the current $68,390 to $80,008 in 2010. But it's up to commissioners to implement the raises.
Commissioners Bruce Woodbury, Tom Collins and Chip Maxfield said Friday that they support the pay increases because the time and commitment required of commissioners have increased with the county's rapid growth. They also said pay needs to keep pace with the cost of living to ensure that qualified candidates are attracted to the post.
But anytime elected officials vote to give themselves more money, they create campaign fodder for opponents.
"I think it is always a tough political decision to make," said Ryan Erwin, a Republican political consultant. "That doesn't mean it's always a bad idea."
Four commissioners - Woodbury, Collins, Maxfield and Lawrence Weekly - face re election next year.
"There's always a potential political consequence when you raise pay, depending on how large the raise is, under what circumstances it is given and how vicious your opponent is," political consultant Dan Hart said.
At least one commissioner, freshman Susan Brager, said she plans to suggest an amendment to the proposal that would postpone her pay increase. Having been on the job only six months, she said , voters have a right to know what kind of job she is doing before she gets a pay increase.
"It would be better to do that when I win re election," she said.
That might put pressure on the two other freshman commissioners, Weekly and Chris Giunchigliani, to do the same.
Woodbury said he thinks salaries for all members should be the same, but added: "If the newly elected ones feel otherwise, they should have a right to defer it."
Brager's proposal is not without precedent.
In 2003, the last time commissioners considered raising their salaries, the Legislature had authorized an increase of up to 26.65 percent. Woodbury suggested phasing that in via four steps over two years.
But Commissioner Rory Reid, just six months on the job, said he didn't think he had earned a raise yet, and proposed that only commissioners who already had been re elected receive the pay increase. Commissioners approved that plan.
Despite the political risk, Collins said , he thinks the raises are too modest to become a political hot button.
Moreover, he said, they're in line with the raises county employees got in a collective bargaining agreement that commissioners signed in March.
The employee union received a 13 percent increase over four years. That's on top of merit raises that can vary, but average about 4 percent a year.
State law also allows commissioners to receive an annual 2 percent pay boost beyond their base salaries after they have been in office for four years. There is a 20 percent cap on that "longevity" pay.
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