Las Vegas city manager gets raise, bonus

Las Vegas City Manager Jorge Cervantes on Wednesday received a pay raise, which will put him “more in line” with what others in his position in the valley earn.

The 6 percent raise to his yearly base salary — and a $20,000 bonus — will put Cervantes’ new pay at roughly $295,000 per year.

The motion, put forward by Councilman Brian Knudsen, passed unanimously.

Cervantes started out with a base salary of $250,000 when he was promoted to the top position two years ago.

A year ago, he received a 4 percent salary increase and a $15,000 bonus.

Cervantes’ contract expires in a year, and he hinted he is “getting closer” to the end of his career at City Hall, which spans nearly 25 years.

“I fully intend to fulfill my contract,” Cervantes told the council during his yearly review, in which he touted the city’s work in the past 12 months.

“These accomplishments cannot be performed without the professionalism of your executive leadership team, the dedication of our directors, and most importantly — I think — it’s the hard work of each and every city employee that come in day in day out that do the work for our community,” Cervantes said, describing the lower-level staffers as “forgotten heroes.”

The vote took place a day after Clark County approved the employment contract for incoming County Manager Kevin Schiller, which gave him a yearly base salary of $297,000.

Cervantes’ base salary was the lowest among the top municipal executives in the area.

And while the new raise reduces the gap, his annual base salary of about $275,000 still falls under others.

This year, North Las Vegas City Manager Ryann Juden’s base salary was increased to roughly $292,000 and Henderson City Manager Richard Derrick’s to about $289,000, according to a presentation by Las Vegas Human Resources Director Vince Zamora.

The combined population of both municipalities falls a little short of Las Vegas’ 649,790, the presentation noted. Las Vegas is the largest city in the state.

Cervantes recently delivered a report to the council about the city’s 2022 accomplishments, which he highlighted during Wednesday’s public meeting.

He mentioned spending of federal pandemic-related dollars, providing services for people experiencing homelessness and the development of Symphony Park and the Las Vegas Medical District.

For the fiscal year that ended in June, he said, the city had a surplus of $106 million. And while the city recently has operated with “frugal” budgets, it added 20 positions to public safety, 21 to the Fire Department and 11 to Public Works, he added.

A biannual survey of Las Vegas residents, he said, determined that roughly two-thirds of participants said they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the city’s services.

Survey responders listed public safety, economic development and upkeep of streets and city facilities as their “top priorities,” Cervantes said. Overall, he noted, the survey scores were nearly 10 percent higher than the national average.

Cervantes received high praise from every City Council member, beginning with Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who called him a “wonderful” city manager.

“Wow is all I can say,” she said after Cervantes finished his presentation. “You have really set a standard that has been unequal. I just can’t thank you enough, Jorge, and I can’t wait to see what the future is gonna hold.”

Councilwoman Olivia Diaz said she wished he would add at least two more years to his contract.

“You always have a can-do attitude in wanting to analyze things in terms of what’s the best foot forward for the city, for the council, for the mayor,” she said.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites.