Oft-criticized contractors board eyes improvements

Monday, June 29, 1998 | 11:25 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The state Contractors Board has been one of the most criticized agencies in Nevada government in the past few years, but new direction from the Legislature and a new director mean good news for homeowners.

Some homeowners have lost their life savings because of unscrupulous contractors. The majority of the complaints are generated in Las Vegas because of the construction boom.

The Contractors Board is currently under investigation by the state attorney general's office and an audit firm has been hired by the board to examine its weaknesses and to recommend improvements.

Even though the 1997 Legislature changed the law to strengthen the board, Sen. Jon Porter, R-Boulder City, says complaints from homeowners keep coming.

"Investigators supported contractors even when the law was violated," Porter said Friday at a meeting of the Legislative Commission.

Complaints against contractors by homeowners and others were never adequately investigated and many of the cases were left unresolved, Porter said.

Porter acknowledged, however, that the board's new executive director, Margi Grein, has made a number of improvements to the agency over the past few months.

She took over as acting director in February and was named to the job permanently in May. She told the commission many changes have been made, including the creation of a criminal investigations division.

The division conducts in-depth background checks of those who apply for contractor's licenses in Nevada. "These up-front investigations ... verifying the information ... will pay off down the road as new people come in," Grein said.

In charge of the division that also looks into fraud cases is retired FBI Agent George Lyford.

"People say we (contractors board) side with the contractors," Grein says. "We've put in more checks and balances to make sure this doesn't happen."

Grein added that more investigators will be hired to handle complaints from consumers. A private company has recruited candidates for the jobs and Grein said selections will be made soon. One investigator, who didn't measure up, has been fired.

Procedures to speed up the handling of consumer complaints also have been put in place. "We've learned from the past and we don't want to go that way again," Grein, a 12-year employee of the agency, said. She was formerly director of finance.

Porter came before the Legislative Commission with the intent to request an audit of the agency. He agreed, however, that legislative auditors need only to monitor the investigation by the attorney general's office and the examination by the board's audit firm, saying Grein "has been part of the solution."

Grein said the attorney general's probe should be completed soon and the audit may be finished in the fall.