Think tank calling Las Vegas police pay 'inflated'
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- A conservative think tank is publicly posting the salaries of Las Vegas police employees, and blaming the police officers' union for departmental budget problems.
The Nevada Policy Research Institute calls the salaries "inflated," and said Tuesday that state lawmakers should make it illegal to use taxpayer money to pay police officers doing union business.
NPRI chief Andy Matthews says that union leave time accounts for $1.8 million of the department's nearly $503 million budget.
Las Vegas Police Protective Association officials didn't immediately respond to messages.
Matthews says the release of salary information comes while Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department administrators are calling for the state Legislature to authorize a quarter-cent sales tax increase to hire more officers.
The number of sworn Las Vegas officers peaked last year at almost 2,750.
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