Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Employment department retreat off

CARSON CITY -- A retreat for more than 40 managers and state administrators in the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation has been canceled because of a lack of hotel rooms in Las Vegas or Laughlin.

Department Director Carol Jackson had scheduled a session May 1-3 with top administrators from across the state to discuss goals. She defended the high number, saying her agency had more than 1,000 employees and more than 35 offices around Nevada.

She originally scheduled it for Laughlin and then tried to switch to Las Vegas. In a memo to managers and administrators, she said, "As all arrangements began coming together, it became apparent that meeting space and overnight accommodations are at such a premium in Nevada we could not maintain the selected date (no rooms available in Laughlin, Reno, Carson City or Las Vegas areas.)"

Jackson said new dates will be scheduled later. She said this would be a working session and the word "retreat" may have been inappropriate.

Meanwhile the Reno City Council is going ahead with a two-day retreat at a cost of $10,000 at Donner Lake in California, about 45 miles from Reno. Reno City Manager Charles McNeely said the council hasn't been working together.

"A lot of work needs to be done to bring this community together," McNeely said.

The Reno session was criticized by Bob Fulkerson, executive director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada, calling it a waste of money. He suggested the session won't be public since it is so far out of town and the retreat "sounds rather elitist."

The retreat is Thursday and Friday.

archive