State will pay new judges’ salaries, sticking county with tab for staffs

Today, Clark County commissioners should approve new general fund positions for the next fiscal year at a special 10 a.m. budget meeting, and 86 out of 90 will go to support the justice system. Out of the $5.8 million in general fund dollars available for new positions, most goes for salaries for judges’ staffs.

Family Court Judge Bill Voy will ask the commissioners to pony up $512,000 to staff and operate a safe house for teen prostitutes. While it’s a worthwhile idea, the judge is dreaming.

Courtesy of the Nevada Legislature, the county is required to fund staff for six new District Court judges and four new justices of the peace. As a result, the only general fund dollars left over will go to Clark County Parks and Recreation, for four new positions.

Judges have asked the Legislature to create more elected judgeships, contending they are overworked.

While the state pays the salaries of the district judges, the county pays for staff.

The county also pays the salaries for the justices of the peace and their staffs. The addition of JPs is also mandated by the Legislature, which set a formula based on population growth.

Clark County will add six new judges: five Family Court judges and one civil judge.

Each of those judges will have a judicial executive assistant, a bailiff, a law clerk, a court recorder, a county clerk, and a legal office assistant. Combined salaries, with benefits, run $361,145 for each judge.

Las Vegas will get two more justices of the peace, while Henderson and North Las Vegas each get one more. Each will receive four staffers.

The judicial assistant, bailiff and law clerk are all at-will employees who serve at the pleasure of the judge. If judges want to hire friends and lovers, or spouses of other judges, that’s their right. And some do.

Not all judges are floundering under too much work. It’s common knowledge certain justices of the peace are done by noon, while others keep on grinding.

No one can tell an elected judge how long to work. But it’s pretty clear on most afternoons many, if not most, of the courtrooms in the Regional Justice Center aren’t in use.

Now, I know judges work at home and are available at off hours. But maybe judges should police themselves with some self-imposed efficiencies.

And maybe legislators should consider what impact the new judgeships have on the county budget.

Clark County Manager Virginia Valentine and Chief Administrative Officer Don Burnette are in agreement: The allocation of new positions to support judges is out of whack.

“Our resources are disproportionately committed to those entities,” Burnette said Friday. “Many county departments haven’t seen any new positions for years.”

And this isn’t a new phenomenon. Burnette said the justice system has taken the lion’s share of new positions for at least the past five years, maybe more. Last year, out of 50 new general fund positions, 37 went to judicial and public safety needs.

For the past two years, the county hasn’t bothered to ask department heads if they want new positions. Why waste the time when there’s no funding?

Another 125 positions will be authorized to staff a low-level offender detention center, costing $11.3 million. So 211 out of 310 new county jobs will go to pay for justice.

The county’s $1.4 billion general fund budget pays for 4,421 positions, and about 350 are vacant, partly to save money.

The county also has non-general fund accounts, which are self-funded.

The total number of non-general fund positions is 3,719, primarily the airport and Development Services jobs. And that excludes Las Vegas police and detention centers.

Airport fees will pay for 31 new jobs starting July 1.

Building fees will pay for 32 new positions, including 20 new building inspectors. (Thanks to Harrah’s Entertainment.)

The non-general fund budget includes 13 new positions for child welfare, but those are state funded.

But new judges and staffers are the driving force behind 84 of 90 new positions.

Justice has prevailed, just not in the way county officials like.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275.