Council to consider review panel's recommendations

A committee reviewing the makeup and administration of the Las Vegas City Council recommends in a report that council salaries be increased, that the tradition of allowing members of council to hold outside jobs be continued, and that the public should vote on whether more seats need to be added.

The report will be considered by the council on Monday.

The committee, established Oct. 12, held several meetings through December.

"The committee members engaged in very open and honest discussions," Ron Portaro, chairman of the committee, wrote in a Dec. 31 letter to the council members.

"This exchange of views coupled with our diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experience led to a credible process. As a result, we feel the recommendations in this report, given our time constraints, are sound."

At one meeting, the committee recommended that City Council members earn 90 percent of the $54,000 that Clark County commissioners make -- an amount set by the Legislature. That would increase council salaries from $36,900 to $48,600.

The committee also agreed to recommend a raise for the mayor, bringing that salary up to 130 percent of what commissioners make. That would increase the mayor's pay from $48,527 to $63,163 a year.

If City Council accepts the committee's recommendation, the pay raise would not take effect until after the next council election.

Council members last received a pay raise in 1986. The next year, they passed an ordinance that tied future raises to the Consumer Price Index and an annual cost-of-living adjustment.

At another meeting, the committee decided not to change the current part-time status of the council members or preclude them from holding another job. That choice should be left up to the person who is running for the office, the committee decided.

At yet another meeting, the committee decided that any decision to change the number of members on the council should be determined at the voting polls.

Adding two seats with the recommended salary increases tacked on would cost $573,240 a year, plus a one-time cost of $170,000 to renovate offices.

State Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, had stated before the committee was formed that he will for a second straight legislative session seek to mandate that the City Council be increased to a seven-member board.

By increasing the number of wards and aligning them in such a way that the heavily minority sections of the city have better representation, Neal says that minorities will have a better shot at getting elected to what is now an all-white panel.

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