City manager may get contract extension, raise

Carson City supervisors are considering a three-year extension of City Manager Linda Ritter's contract, with changes that would bump her pay 15 percent from what she made last year while lowering the maximum she could make.

A proposed contract supervisors are scheduled to discuss in a public hearing Thursday would pay Ritter a flat $115,000 yearly salary, rather than the incentive-laden contract that ranges in pay from nearly $86,000 to more than $120,000 a year. She made just under $100,000 last year.

Mayor Marv Teixeira said Ritter requested a pay system that doesn't depend on what he called "nickel and dime" incentives.

"I was never comfortable with trying to put a value on everything I did," Ritter said.

Teixeira said the proposed contract seems fair, although he's not sure about the level of pay.

"I have a little reservation as to whether we're paying her enough," he said.

Carson City is a sizeable organization with many departments, Teixeira said. As a combined city/county government, being the boss "is a big job." And it's in a place with a higher cost of living than many Northern Nevada communities, he said.

Douglas County Manager Dan Holler made nearly $116,000 last year. Lyon County paid its manager $105,000 and the manager of its biggest city, Fernley, makes just under $85,000 a year. From there, the going rates for a government's top administrator skyrocket.

Washoe County's manager made more than $172,000 in 2004 and Reno City Manager Charles McNeely, the highest paid city manager in the state, received a raise last month that put his salary well over the $200,000 threshold.

"Linda put this (proposed contract) together, and I think she was a little conservative," Teixeira said.

Ritter's current contract runs until June 20, 2006. Along with the pay-rate changes, the proposal would extend the contract's end date to June 30, 2009.

The contract would also give Ritter a $3,600 per year vehicle allowance and give the Carson City Board of Supervisors the discretion to raise her pay once a year.

n Contact reporter Cory McConnell at cmcconnell@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.

Pay scale

Northern Nevada county and city manager salaries:

Carson City $99,000

Douglas County $115,856

Lyon County $105,000

Churchill County $98,860

City of Sparks $152,567

Washoe County $172,182

City of Reno $203,338

City of Fernley $85,000