Transparent Nevada updated with 2014 compensation data; Charter schools included for first time ever

(Chantal Lovell) – Las Vegas — TransparentNevada.com, the website that allows users to search public employee salary and benefit information by name,  jurisdiction or job title, has been updated with 2014 compensation data for over 122,000 Nevada government employees.

The 2014 data includes salary and benefits information from 123 Nevada jurisdictions, although Clark County and the City of Henderson have yet to provide 2014 data.

Now, for the first time ever, the website — operated by the Nevada Policy Research Institute as a public service — includes compensation information for charter school employees.

“Each year, we update TransparentNevada.com with new public employee compensation information that is both shocking and eye-opening,” NPRI President Andy Matthews said.

“In 2014, we again saw countless instances of over-the-top compensation to government employees,” he said, adding that, “More than 1,300 government employees were paid in excess of $200,000, and 2,011 employees received higher compensation than did Gov. Brian Sandoval. The site is full of examples like these which, unfortunately, seem to be the norm rather than the exception.”

Thanks to the new information, users of the site may now view compensation data on charter school employees and compare them to those of public school employees. The new data shows that public school teachers, on average, received $75,974, versus charter school teachers who received $59,408 on average in 2014.

Some takeaways from the 2014 data:

• At least 2,011 employees received higher compensation than Gov. Brian Sandoval.
• At least 76 employees made more in overtime/callback pay than their base salary.
• At least 1,302 employees received more than $200,000 in total compensation.
• The number of State of Nevada employees making over $200,000 increased 5 percent from 2013 to 2014.
• Total overtime spending at the State of Nevada increased 23.8 percent — from $21.44 million in 2013 to $26.55 million in 2014.
• The State of Nevada is unlawfully redacting the names of the Inspector General, Medical Director, Park Supervisors, Park Rangers, as well as all law enforcement officials. The state is using an exemption lawmakers designed for undercover law enforcement personnel, whose safety could be jeopardized by disclosure.
• Rossi T. Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, got a 10 percent pay bump, receiving $498,969 in total compensation.
• Clark County School District Superintendent William Skorkowsky was the highest-paid superintendent in the state, receiving $393,129 in 2014.
• Average compensation of the 500 highest-paid employees in North Las Vegas increased 10.5 percent to $200,780 from 2013 to 2014. The increases total $9,598,644.
• Las Vegas City Manager Elizabeth Fretwell was the highest-paid city manager in 2014, receiving $302,489 in total compensation in 2014.
• A custodian at the Southern Nevada Water Authority received $98,858 in total compensation, while two others received over $96,000.
• A librarian in North Las Vegas received $130,121 in total compensation.
• Agencies either refusing to comply or citing “extraordinary use” in response to our public records requests that are also supporting SB28, a bill to suppress public-records requests: City of Caliente, Gardnerville Ranchos General Improvement District, and the City of Lovelock.
• The average compensation for Reno fire department employees rose from $126,040 in 2013 to $130,516 in 2014.
• From 2013 to 2014, overtime spending from Reno fire increased about 27 percent to $2.24 million.
• Sparks’ 90 firefighters received an average of $14,983 in overtime, for a total of $1.35 million in overtime spending in 2014.

It should be noted that the City of Henderson and Clark County have yet to provide 2014 data, so the numbers do not reflect the thousands of employees that work for those governments.

“Transparent Nevada is the go-to website for lawmakers, media, the public and even government employees who want to gain a better understanding of how Nevada government is spending taxpayer money,” Matthews said. “In 2014, Transparent Nevada earned 2.98 million page views and was cited by countless individuals trying to enhance government accountability.”

“As state lawmakers consider reforms to collective bargaining, the new data on Transparent Nevada shows those reforms are needed now more than ever.”

TransparentNevada.com launched in September 2008 and has served as a unique source of government-financing information for hundreds of thousands of citizens, journalists and elected officials. Recently, Transparent Nevada added pension data from the Nevada Public Employees’ Retirement System to the site at TransparentNevada.com/nvpers/2014.

The site will be updated as other government entities provide salary information.

NPRI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that produces and shares ideas and information that empowers people. For more information, please visit www.NPRI.org.