Lobbyist, public relations jobs replace two street cops

Cathy Scott

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 1998 | 10:22 a.m.

Two positions for Metro Police street cops are being replaced by an executive lieutenant on the sheriff's administrative staff and a lieutenant in the public relations office.

Also, a new position is being created at Metro for a "media-type person" in the public information office, Undersheriff Richard Winget said.

The lieutenant positions will be effective Feb. 28 and the media position will be effective March 21. Two sergeants will be promoted to lieutenant to replace the vacant positions and two officers will be promoted to sergeants to replace those positions, Winget said. The two vacant police officer positions are not being replaced, he said.

"We end up losing police officer positions," Winget said.

In 1996, voters approved a property tax increase to add what they were told would be 450 new police officers over four years. To pay for the street cops, at the end of four years Las Vegas residents will pay an additional $70 on a $100,000 home and in the unincorporated area of Clark County, $55.

Lt. Stan Olsen, who has been working part-time as a lobbyist and full-time as commander of the Inspections Bureau, will move to a full-time lobbying job for Metro effective March 21, Winget said.

"We're creating a new position," Winget said. "He'll be responsible for coordinating all inter governmental activities."

Lt. Jim Chaney is replacing Olsen in the Inspections Bureau. Vice Lt. Carlos Cordeiro is transferring to the administration as the sheriff's executive lieutenant, replacing Chaney.

Besides lobbying the Legislature, which meets every two years and won't be in session again until January 1999, Olsen will be the liaison between Metro and the city and county's planning departments and boards, Winget said.

When asked if the increase to Metro's public relations staff was to improve the department's image because this is a campaign year for Sheriff Jerry Keller's elected post, Winget said: "No. There is no connection between the two."

Dr. Michael Bowers, a political science professor and associate dean of the college of liberal arts at UNLV, however, said adding public relations positions during an election year "does seem to be a strange coincidence."

Bowers compared the move to a Nevada Supreme Court committee's recent recommendation to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars "to improve their public relations" image.

"The obvious thing is to do your job right and not spend taxpayer money on public relations telling people how good you are," Bower said. "It's a recent trend in government agencies. Private industries have been doing it for years to convince people how wonderful they are."

In Metro's public information office, Sgt. Will Minor will remain as a public information officer with the addition of a lieutenant and a civilian media-type PIO, Winget said.

"We're expanding the public information office," he said.

Phil Rolond, a civilian employee, will be leaving the PIO office and transfering to the information systems section as a manager.

"We're looking for a media person to fill the role of building partnerships between the community and the police department," Winget said. "It's a role Phil started to develop, and now we're looking at changing it from reactive to developing relationships with the media that will result in expanding partnerships in the community. We'll start with partnering with the media. Hopefully, the media will be helpful in the crime-fighting role as well."

The pay for the new civilian PIO position will range from $30,000 to $40,000, Winget said. Olsen will continue to receive standard lieutenant's pay, he said.