Letter to the Editor

City needs to step up

In the current discussion by the city council, as well as articles on this subject in this publication, the primary obstacle to the employment of a well-qualified city manager is the city’s stated inability to pay a competitive salary.

Councilman Walton has suggested opening the position of city manager to qualified applicants who are retired from other Nevada entities. This would require declaration of a state of “Critical Labor Shortage” by the city council.

There is nothing objectionable to hiring someone on a previous pension for any position so long as all qualifications for that position are met by the applicant.

The question that arises is whether or not the city of Boulder City should adopt a policy which formally approves the partial subsidization of the city manager’s salary by another entity.

Asking a potential candidate for city manager to work for a lower-than-standard salary because he or she has an already earned pension appears patently unfair. The city of Boulder City has a substantial budget and the appropriate remedy to this issue is to establish a competitive salary structure.

Fred Guenther

Boulder City