Clark Public Utilities’ board of commissioners voted to give CEO and general manager Lena Wittler a $25,000 salary increase, bringing her pay to $292,000 annually.
Wittler has served in her role since June 2019.
In 2021, during the pandemic, Clark Public Utilities gave $5 million in utility bill assistance to families financially impacted by the pandemic. Under Wittler’s leadership, it began an electric vehicle incentive program, maintained high service reliability and swift outage restoration during historic weather events and developed integrated plans to meet state emissions reductions standards ahead of schedule, according to a news release.
Clark Public Utilities has not raised customer rates for 12 years.
“Ms. Wittler’s recommendation to invest $30 million 2021 surplus dollars in beginning a transition to Advanced Metering Infrastructure, and her work with the utility staff on forecasting for future demand puts the utility on a path to achieve clean energy targets while meeting customer needs today and in the years to come,” said Jane Van Dyke, the board’s vice president.
Wittler’s car allowance of $400 per month and other benefits did not change. The vote, taken at Tuesday’s board meeting, was unanimous.