Public budgets

EDITOR:

On Jan. 27 The Record-Courier reported that Douglas County lost another 700 jobs during 2009. That and some other items in the news deserve some discussion.

Spending and Government Efficiency Commission Chairman Bruce James just reported to Gov. Gibbons that Nevada state workers make much more than their private sector counterparts, calling this "unaffordable" and "unsustainable."

Dovetailing with that study, a Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce report showed that Nevada public employees make the sixth highest wages in the U.S., $55,266 annually for state workers, and that Nevada county/municipal employees do even better, averaging $66,609.

TransparentNevada.com lists the wages and benefits - as of 2008 - of Douglas County's 652 employees, which total about $43.5 million. Ordered from highest to lowest, the list covers seven web pages. The over-$100,000 positions cover the first page and a half. Some that caught my attention were a superintendent-parks at $115,784, a youth facilities manager at $108,915, a librarian III at $91,701, a secretary SR at over $80,000, two administrative assistants at over $74,000, and an office assistant senior at just over $60,000. Annual compensation doesn't drop below $50,000 until you approach the bottom of page five.

How do you think the salary and benefits of the top 652 private sector jobs in Douglas County would compare? There are about 50,000 residents of Douglas County, only some of whom are taxpayers. This seems like a lot of county workers making a lot of money to be supported by such a small tax base.

You might see these salary levels in San Jose, where housing, commuting, and other expenses are high, and the tax base is much larger. What is the justification for these lofty salaries in no-income-tax rural Nevada? Were these pay levels ever necessary to attract good workers? The only place taxpayers can control the cost of government is at the ballot box, so voters have something to ask about at the next candidate meet-and-greet.

Douglas County has too many job seekers and too few jobs, too many available houses and too few buyers. Tax increases won't help, they always trickle down to hurt those at the bottom; small business gets hurt, jobs die, and wages stagnate.

Gov. Gibbons met Monday, with county and municipal leaders to discuss budget cuts. Jeff Fontaine, executive director of the Nevada Association of Counties, tried to preempt the meeting, saying that since 2008 the counties have taken a $235 million budget hit and there's nothing more to give. How much does Mr. Fontaine make, and is he paid with tax money?

If the 2008 TransparentNevada numbers are out of date, what are the correct numbers? A brand new position has just been created, Minden town manager, which will pay six figures with benefits. Isn't this rather frivolous? Why does Minden all of a sudden need a manager?

I have a budget cut suggestion, and Mr. Fontaine won't like it one bit.

Lynn Muzzy

Minden