Pay raises for top officers deserved, sheriff says

Top staff in the sheriff's department recently got big bumps in pay, but that was to raise their wages above lower-ranking officers, Sheriff Kenny Furlong said.

The pay of Undersheriff Steve Albertsen and the sheriff's two chief deputies went up about $20,000 a year, raising the undersheriff's pay to about $120,000 a year and the chief deputies' pay to between $100,000 and $115,000 a year.

The department's four lieutenants were making more than those three supervisors, also $100,000 a year, and are allowed to collect overtime pay, unlike top officers.

"I don't know of anyone on the planet who would say a subordinate should make more (than a supervisor)," said Kathy Heath, department business manager.

Lieutenants, sergeants and deputies negotiate through separate employee associations over their contracts with city hall, but the sheriff determines top officers' pay in a budget that has to be approved by the city board of supervisors.

Top officers were making more than lieutenants as late as 2003, but the lieutenants' contract had annual pay raises, which gave them more overtime.

From 2003 until recently, the salary of lieutenants had increased about $30,000, where top officers' pay had gone up $13,000.

Lieutenants signed a contract with the city this year that will give them 3 to 4 percent pay increases for the next few years, but Furlong said he'll try to make sure the pay of top officers stays above them.

City Manager Larry Werner said that although the sheriff was exempt from a hiring freeze this year that helped trim the city's budget, the sheriff has had to cut $120,000 from his department's budget and has half the top officers he is allowed under state law.

Also, Werner said, the raises for the top officers also helps keep experienced officers in the city.

"What I want to do is pay people appropriately for the job they're doing," he said.

But a proposed property tax increase, 12.6 cents on every $100 of assessed property, that will be on the November ballot would hire employees the sheriff's and fire departments have said are critical to public safety. The owner of a property assessed at $100,000, for instance, would have to pay $126 a year for the tax.

New employees would include a gang unit, ambulance team, dispatchers, jail deputies and seasonal firefighters.

The sheriff's department budget is about $15 million, and the city's general fund is about $65 million. The sheriff's salary is $90,202 this year and is set by the state.

The city and approximately 75 sheriff's deputies reached an agreement earlier this year, but the city is still negotiating with sergeants and general city employees over contracts.

- Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.