Task force set to offer ethics suggestions

Adrienne Packer

Friday, Dec. 4, 1998 | 11:11 a.m.

An ethics task force assembled last spring to develop policies that may be incorporated in the county's ethics code is scheduled to present its recommendations to the County Commission on Jan. 26.

"For once Nevada is on the right track with ethics laws," Larry Spitler, chairman of the task force, said Thursday. "What we don't do right is talk about ethics unless there is a fire burning. We need to be talking about ethics on an ongoing basis."

Spitler will be doing plenty of talking during January's special meeting, at which time he will offer Clark County commissioners a year's worth of recommendations that may be incorporated into the county's ethics policy.

The task force was created by Clark County Manager Dale Askew in February when four of the seven commissioners were involved in probes launched by the state Ethics Commission.

Commissioners Lance Malone and Yvonne Atkinson Gates were found guilty of violating ethics laws last summer. The state Ethics Commission ruled the two used their positions to help acquaintances secure much sought-after concessionaire space at McCarran International Airport's new D terminal.

In July, the task force released a report that addressed issues related to commissioners using their positions inappropriately.

Spitler said although he will address the definition of a friend during his presentation, the task force did not draw up a policy and determined it would be best for that issue to be handled case by case.

"We thought it was something we could do," Spitler said. "But there is no way you can define what a friend is. Someone could do something with someone they knew a month and it could be as honest or dishonest as doing something with someone they knew for years."

One recommendation from the first report would require former county elected and appointed officials to wait at least a year after leaving office before representing anyone who comes before that county board.

Another said officials should not accept gifts from people if the action could be seen as an attempt to influence them.

Last month, Commissioner Bruce Woodbury asked Askew to reconvene the task force and direct it to study the county's contracting process. More specifically, how contracts at the airport are awarded.

One recommendation would require the two master concessionaires at the airport to choose concessionaires and negotiate the contracts. The county board's only involvement would be to approve the final contracts.

Another proposed policy would disqualify applicants who lobby commissioners while county staff reviews the bids and decides which businesses will be awarded contracts.

A third significant change would require the commission to vote on consultant contracts for less than $25,000.

Spitler said the task force will also encourage the county board to support additional funding for state Ethics Commission so it can be expanded from a six-member board to 10 to 15 members.

More funding would allow the commission to hear cases in a more expeditious manner and hire a fulltime attorney.

Finally, one of the more significant recommendations will be to offer ethics training to elected or appointed officials, Spitler said.

"A lot of times people get elected, they're excited and nobody really tells them how the ethics commission works," Spitler said. "Sometimes those people end up making innocent mistakes."

Spitler said the task force plans to spend the next month combining and formatting the two reports.

"We want to make the code fit with the state Ethics Commission code so we don't have confusion out there," Spitler said.