Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani is mystified why the Clean Water Coalition exists at all.
"There is really no reason to have it, in my opinion," said Giunchigliani.
The general suspicion is that CWC is still around, because it provides generous incomes to a gaggle of politically-connected public officials.
Local governments are all but unanimous in the belief that CWC's primary mission, building a billion dollar wastewater pipeline into Lake Mead, is toast, unnecessary and far too expensive. CWC is an agency in search of a mission.
"Here it seems to be a justification to find anything to cobble together to create and keep this going. In my opinion, it needs to go away," said Giunchigliani.
The 2009 Clark County Salary Tracker
CWC's own board members seem to share her doubts. At its most recent meeting, right after a rap music birthday video was played and donuts were handed out, member Steve Kirk, a Henderson City Councilman, mentioned the gorilla in the room.
"The formulation of the CWC was really to build a project which we don't think we're going to build now," he said.
Its mission is gone, along with its $60 million bankroll, but CWC is still good at spending money. It has a $7 million budget but only four employees. Rent in a nice building in Henderson is $215,000 a year. Another $300,000 goes for miscellaneous operating expenses. And $632,000 in salaries for the four employees, with the biggest chunk of that going to former County Commissioner Chip Maxfield.
While on the commission, Maxfield chaired the CWC panel. Now he works for it.
See the CWC's operating expenses
Former Las Vegas City Manager Doug Selby, who championed the CWC pipe project during his years at city hall, is now paid up to $23,000 per month to give advice and attend meetings. Even though Selby lives in New York, the public pays for his travel expenses.
The lady handing out donuts is a longtime political organizer who has worked for the campaigns of Maxfield and Kirk. Her contract pays her $165 an hour, up to $170,000 a year.
CWC has yet another P.R. contractor, also getting $13,000 per month, up to $170,000 a year for his one man company run from a private home in Boulder City.
The big money is for lawyers. Attorney Bob Marshall, the guy drafted the law creating CWC, is now its primary counsel and can bill up to $500,000 per year. Marshall is the attorney who advised CWC to not speak to reporters.
A second law firm gets up to $125,000. CWC also pays $7,000 a month for its own lobbyist in Washington.
And the CWC's four employees make hundreds of thousands in salary per year:
- Chip Maxfield, GM: $150,000 + 74,669 in benefits
- John Brumley - CWC Deputy General Manager: $108,111
- Jim Devlin - CWC Engineering Manager: $111,530
- Martha Jones - CWC Executive Assistant: $45,011
So why spend so much on consultants if there is no mission? Board member Steve Ross wonders the same thing. "We're trying to find out what that mission should be," he said.
The coalition's boldest gambit was in trying to slip in a monumentally generous wage and benefits package for the four employees. The presence of 8 News NOW's camera at the last meeting may have prompted the general manager to delay open conversation about the package, but here's what it would do: a first year employee would get 12 days of vacation, but since they work four 10 hour days, that's the equivalent of three weeks. They would also get 11 holidays, a paid day for birthdays, up to four administrative days off, more than three weeks of sick leave, extra days off for a wellness program, and in the second year, all of this increases. A first year employee could get 10 weeks off per year.
But there's more. CWC would pay 100-percent of health insurance, life insurance and retirement, plus a 401K deal with up to 8-percent raises and another potential 10-percent merit boost.
Maxfield first tried to get this plan approved without discussion. Board members said no deal. What do other public officials think of the sweet proposal?
"That is a disconnect from reality in my opinion," said Giunchigliani.
The I-Team did not interview Chip Maxfield for this story, nor would any of the board members speak with the I-Team on the advice of their private attorney. The attorney said since there is legal action pending with the state, no one from CWC can talk to reporters about anything.
