Agency would analyze compensation of Nevada state employees

The Nevada State Seal on the north side of the Legislative Building on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, in Carson City. (Benjamin Hager/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @benjaminhphoto

CARSON CITY — Nevada spends millions of dollars each year to train state lawyers, law enforcement and other state employees.

And each year, the state watches that money leave as dozens of those employees jump to local government jobs that offer higher pay and better benefits, Assembly Minority Whip Rural Keith Ellison, R-Elko, told the legislative operations committee Tuesday.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 6, sponsored by Ellison and Assembly Deputy Minority Floor Leader James Oscarson, R-Pahrump, would create a committee to analyze state and local salary and perks, and figure out how much more the state needs to pay to retain the employees it invests in and trains.

The issue arose during the Great Recession when the state froze the pay for several employee sectors, Ellison said.

The Department of Public Safety, which encompasses Nevada Highway Patrol and Parole and Probation, saw 81 sworn officers leave in the last two fiscal years, Capt. Natasha Koch told the committee while testifying as neutral on the bill.

With those employees gone, the state effectively lost the $4.6 million spent to background check and train them, Koch added. And the main reason given for their departure was pay, Koch said. Some departing officers told the department that the local-level jobs netted them an additional $1,000 per month.

“We can’t keep recruiting talented individuals only to have them leave,” Ellison said.

The committee took no action on the bill. Several state law enforcement associations and unions like AFSCME and the SEIU supported the bill, while the public safety and transportation departments were neutral.

No one opposed the bill Tuesday.

Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.