When $191K Per Employee Becomes the New "Underpaid"
Shaun Mullin posted on Nextdoor yesterday after the Reno City Council Budget discussion.
Do As I Say, Not As I Pay: Reno Council's Compensation Double Standard …
According to This Is Reno's comprehensive six-part series, the City of Reno spends an average of more than $191,000 per year in pay and benefits for each full-time employee—a figure that includes 100% city-funded PERS retirement and health insurance. Yet Councilman Devon Reese somehow managed to keep a straight face while declaring city employees "underpaid."
One has to wonder: What planet is Reese living on where nearly $200,000 in annual compensation constitutes inadequate pay?
But here's where the story gets truly interesting. Let's examine what these same council members—who are so generous with taxpayer dollars—offer their own employees.
ZipRecruiter job listing for Plato’s Closet.
Mayor Hillary Schieve owns Plato's Closet and Clothes Mentor. We'd love to know: Do her retail employees receive $191,000 in annual compensation? Do they enjoy 100% employer-funded retirement and health insurance? Something tells us the answer rhymes with "not a chance."
Councilmember Devon Reese is a partner in Reese Ring Velto PLLC law firm. Are the firm's paralegals, administrative staff, and junior attorneys pulling down nearly $200K with full benefits? We're guessing the law firm's compensation philosophy differs dramatically from his city council voting record.
Councilmember Naomi Duerr owns multiple companies with her husband Herb. Do their employees enjoy the same lavish compensation packages that Duerr votes to approve for city workers? Color us skeptical.
And Brandi Anderson owns Push Consulting. Are her consultants and staff members banking $191,000 annually with full retirement and health coverage? We'll wait while she checks her payroll records.
The disconnect is staggering. These council members defend astronomical city compensation packages as necessary to "attract talent"—yet most of the high-priced talent they've hired is local. If you're recruiting from the same talent pool you've always drawn from, why the dramatic salary inflation?
Perhaps the real question isn't whether city employees are fairly compensated—it's whether these council members would be willing to apply their generous compensation philosophy to their own businesses. If $191,000 per employee is what it takes to secure quality work, allows one to live comfortably in Reno, surely their own enterprises should reflect this standard?
The silence from their business offices is deafening.
It's easy to be magnanimous with other people's money. It's quite another thing to reach into your own pocket to fund the same level of generosity. These council members have mastered the art of championing expensive principles that they'd never dream of implementing in their own operations.
When council members vote to increase city compensation while paying their own employees a fraction of that amount, they reveal the truth: They don't actually believe these inflated packages are necessary for quality work. They simply believe taxpayers should fund what they themselves refuse to provide.
If Devon Reese truly believes city employees are underpaid at $191,000 annually, perhaps he should lead by example and bring his law firm's compensation structure in line with his stated values. Until then, his credibility on this issue remains as inflated as the city's payroll.