Frequently Asked Questions

Why does TransparentNevada.com show the names of public employees?

Taxpayers have the right to know where their tax dollars are going. This includes the right to know the identities of those who receive money or other compensation from their government, and the amounts so received.

Keeping this information secret would clearly reduce the rest of us to second-class citizens. Thus, Chapter 239 of the Nevada Revised Statutes makes these and other records public. It also describes the process whereby any citizen can request these records.

It is as part of its broader effort to make Nevada governance as open and accountable as possible to the people of Nevada that TransparentNevada.com provides this information.

What is included in the pay and benefit categories on Transparent Nevada?

Transparent Nevada uses uniform pay categories to mirror the categories used by the reporting agencies as much as possible.

For instance, the “Overtime pay” column reflects the values reported under "Overtime pay" by the respective agency. The "Regular Pay" column is the amount reported under either "Base pay" or "Total regular pay."

While some agencies report many additional forms of pay separately, the vast majority only provide two additional forms of pay categories: "Other pay" and "Lump sum pay." Transparent Nevada's "Other pay" category is the sum of these two categories. "Lump sum pay" is one-time payments such as payouts for unused vacation and sick leave. "Other Pay" includes all forms of pay not reported in the previous categories and may include, among other things, car allowances, meeting stipends, longevity pay, incentive pay, and bonus pay.

"Total benefits" consists of the employer-paid cost of health, dental and vision medical insurance and retirement contributions only. The cost of benefits do not reflect monetary payments received by the employee but, instead, reflect the cost incurred by taxpayers associated with employer-provided health and retirement benefits.

The total cost of the employee will be higher than the values reported here as there are associated costs, such as workman's compensation, state unemployment insurance, Medicare and Social Security, that we do not report as employee compensation.

The "Total pay & benefits" column underreports the total compensation of government employees whose government employer did not provided complete salary or benefit information.

Why doesn’t the compensation amount on Transparent Nevada match the amount I receive in my paycheck?

Transparent Nevada lists an employee’s total compensation, including benefits like health insurance and pension payments, and an employee’s salary before any deductions for Social Security, Medicare, retirement, etc… are taken. In addition, we rely upon each agency to give us accurate and complete information.

Who provides Transparent Nevada?

Transparent Nevada is provided by Nevada Policy as a public service.

Nevada Policy is a non-partisan think tank that focuses on, among other things, empowering citizens and elected officials with information they need to make informed public policy decisions.

Transparent Nevada relies on the generous support of individuals. If you would like to help support this site and ensure it is continually updated, please consider making a donation today!