LAS VEGAS -- A new report is putting public employees salaries in the spotlight once again. Some say the size of salaries is tough to hear when private businesses are struggling. But government entities say the payouts are ultimately saving money.
Tuesday, the Nevada Policy Research Institute, a conservative think tank put out the 2010 salaries for public employees. They say some of the numbers raise questions.
NPRI Vice President of Operations Andy Matthews poses a question, "How do you justify, especially during these economic and fiscal times, how do you justify these salaries when private businesses and families are tightening their belts? He says more than 500 government employees throughout Nevada received more than $200,000 last year in total compensation.
"The overall trend is clear that government employees continue to draw high salaries even through this difficult time," he said.
One of the highest earners was North Las Vegas Chief Marshal James Jackson who made more than $790,000, a city clerk in Henderson who received more than $625,000 and a director of leisure services in Las Vegas who was paid more than $340,000.
But local government entities say the numbers -- alone -- don't tell the whole story. Many of the top earners retired last year. They were long-time employees who were paid out for accrued sick and vacation leave. They also took part in a voluntary separation program that paid them to leave in order to save money in the future.
In a statement to 8 News NOW, the city of Las Vegas said the director for leisure services retired after 24 years with a salary of $113,784. Her separation payment which included accrued sick and vacation time amounted to $165,470. "The city of Las Vegas is currently working to make changes to how sick and vacation time is accrued to avoid making large separation payments when city employees retire in the future."
North Las Vegas officials say many of the higher paying positions were people eligible for the executive severance program and the positions, except for the chief of police, were frozen to regain the amount that was paid to the severance packages. Newer city employees are not eligible for payment of sick leave until they reach 10 years of service.
And the city of Henderson issued a statement saying it had saved about $10 million in salaries through a Voluntary Employee Severance Program. It allowed the city to leave positions vacant or fill them at a lower salary. Henderson officials say nearly 200 employees have left the city and many of the positions remain vacant.
Still the NPRI says it's a concern because taxpayer money is being used.
"We taxpayers are the ones that fund government and at NPRI we believe that the people have a right to know what elected officials are doing with their public resources," said Matthews.
More importantly, they want voters to not be afraid to ask questions.
Some government agencies such as Metro and Clark County have still not provided their salary figures. NPRI plans to add that information to their database as soon as it becomes available.
