misuse of Southwest Airlines gift cards<\/a> by LVCVA executives, including then-LVCVA CEO Rossi Ralenkotter. The agency boss was accused of using more than $17,000 of Southwest gift credit for personal trips.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nRalenkotter was the state’s highest-paid employee at the time, his compensation totaling nearly $1 million yearly in pay and benefits. The CEO was eventually charged with two felonies of theft and misconduct by a public officer.<\/p>\n
Ralenkotter was handed a lenient sentence through a plea deal that resulted in him admitting guilt to a lesser misdemeanor charge. He was fined $1,000 and agreed to pay $24,406 in fines and restitution.<\/p>\n
New Leadership, Same Spending<\/b><\/h2>\n
Ralenkotter was replaced by current LVCVA CEO Steve Hill in 2018. His appointment came after the LVCVA board signed off on providing Ralenkotter with a $53,000 separation agreement, $132,000 performance bonus, and $270,000 post-retirement consulting contract.<\/p>\n
Michael Schaus of the Nevada Policy Research Institute, a government watchdog, lambasted the severance.<\/p>\n
\nThis retirement deal shows that the board is nothing more than a club for cronies,” Schaus opined. “The board had absolutely no obligation to offer any sort of deal, and their decision to use taxpayer money to further enrich someone that has clearly violated that public trust in such an obvious way shows just how unserious the board is about even attempting to be responsible stewards of public dollars.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Last month, the LVCVA board approved a nearly $400 million budget<\/a> for its 2022-23 fiscal year. It’s the agency’s richest budget ever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) Board of Directors approved 4% pay increases for 240 employees yesterday, plus one-time bonuses of $2,250 per worker. The expenditures will cost the government agency approximately $19.3 million. Founded in 1955, the LVCVA owns and manages the Las Vegas Convention Center and is responsible for marketing Southern […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":217381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,81886],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Approves Pay Increases<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n