EDITORIAL: An indefensible affront to the Nevada taxpayers

For many government workers, the taxpayer is the Holstein they can’t stop milking.

It’s insult enough that private-sector schmoes are forced to fund lavish lifetime public-employee pension benefits they can only dream about. But to further inflame the wound, some Nevada state and municipal workers have discovered a more creative way to maximize their take from the public teat.

The Review-Journal reported Sunday that residents of Washoe and Clark counties are potentially on the hook for almost $610 million in unused time-off benefits for public employees. That’s on top of the $215 million Clark and Washoe taxpayers have ponied up over the past five years to compensate departing government workers for their unused sick time and vacation leave. Meanwhile, the state currently has $150 million in such obligations.

Allowing workers to bank accrued time off in perpetuity is virtually unheard of in the private sector. The vast majority of private companies impose limits on rolling over such benefits from year to year — if it’s allowed at all. Not surprisingly, such common-sense safeguards are widely dismissed in the halls of government, resulting in a multimillion-dollar taxpayer liability.

For instance, Clark County Manager Yolanda King told the RJ she endorses the current system, arguing the generous payoff programs encourage employees to take less time off. Of course, that’s easy to say when you’re working with somebody else’s money. The taxpayers reaching into their bank accounts to fund this largess likely have a different perspective.

In fact, policies allowing public-sector employees to earn massive checks by stockpiling time off for decades are an indefensible affront to taxpayers. Clark County and other public entities should follow the lead of Las Vegas, which in recent years has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by reforming its paid time-off approach to limit excessive payouts.

“All it did for years and years was spiral up because of competition between local public agencies,” said Dan Tarwater, human resources director for the city of Las Vegas. “Somebody has to start the spiral back down.”

The existence of such generous provisions is yet another indictment of laws allowing collective bargaining for public-sector workers. Too often, the taxpayers are unrepresented during such negotiations, leading to agreements tilted heavily toward labor. At a minimum, Nevada lawmakers should move to open contract talks to the public so taxpayers may observe what is being represented on their behalf. Transparency has a way of fostering accountability and minimizing ridiculous giveaways such as eternal vacation and sick time.