Mayor, council salaries would align with county commission pay under proposed ordinance

With little discussion, the Fernley City Council on April 1 approved the first reading of an ordinance that would raise the salaries of the mayor and council members, but would not affect the current mayor or council members unless they are still in office after the November 2028 election.

Earlier this year, Councilman Albert Torres requested a council agenda item to consider that council salaries be tied to Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 245.043, as amended by Senate Bill (SB)116 in the 2025 legislative session, according to a city staff report.

SB 116 sets the salaries in fiscal year 2025-26 for various county commissioners and other county positions, with the salary for Lyon County commissioners set at $39,000 annually.

Fernley’s proposed mayor and council salary ordinance, Bill #382, would follow the provisions of SB 116 by setting the mayor’s salary to be the same as a Lyon County commissioner and council members’ salaries at 80 percent of the mayor’s salary, the staff report said.

Currently, the mayor earns $30,409 annually and council members earn $15,204, according to City Treasurer Robert Carson. Under the proposal, the mayor serving after November 2028 would receive a raise of $8,591, while future council member salaries would more than double to $31,200 a year.

After the current fiscal year, under SB 116, annual county commissioner salaries will rise by 3 percent a year through 2030-31, but apparently will level off in fiscal 2030-31, indicating “for each year thereafter, each county commission is entitled to the salary that was in effect for that county commission during fiscal year 2030-31.”

It is assumed that annual cost-of-living raises for Fernley’s future mayor and council will also be limited by the provisions of SB 116, since Fernley’s salary ordinance states, “The annual salary of the office of mayor shall be equal to that of a Lyon County Commissioner as set forth in NRS 245.043," which was amended by SB 116.

The proposed ordinance would take effect the Monday following the November 2028 general election in November 2028.

A public hearing on the second reading of the ordinance is expected at the council’s April 15 meeting.