Blacks rip city over staff shuffle

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Feb. 23, 1999 | 11:09 a.m.

Representatives of the black community assailed the Las Vegas City Council on Monday for a staff reorganization plan that eliminates the city's only black department head.

City Manager Virginia Valentine has already initiated a plan to eliminate the General Services department and consolidate many of its components into other divisions.

As a result, General Services Director Ralph Shackelford was asked on Feb. 8 to resign his position. Although he is no longer head of General Services, Shackelford remains on the city payroll. "His status is the same," said Rick Anderson, director of Human Resources for the city.

The troubling aspect of the reorganization plan for many, however, was Valentine's request that City Council ratify Finance Director Mark Vincent as acting General Services director.

"This is not right and you all know it," said Gwendolyn Walker, founder and president of the Walker African-American Museum in Las Vegas.

Shackelford was honored Feb. 6 during the fourth annual Black Pioneers of Nevada event that Walker helps organize.

"That's outright discrimination," Walker said. "You can't change the name of it. You can't call it anything else."

Walker was joined by the Rev. Jesse Scott, past president of the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and three other representatives of the black community.

Mayor Jan Laverty Jones questioned why Vincent was needed to take over a department that is set to be disbanded.

"There are certain things that require sign-off by that department," Valentine said. "It necessitates that we have somebody in it."

Jones was not happy with the response and asked that both the reorganization and Vincent's ratification be held for two weeks so that she and council members could be briefed in private.

Deputy City Manager Steven Houchens told the council Vincent's ratification as acting director was needed because, "At this point in time, officially, there is no acting director of General Services."

But Jones refused, saying: "I don't think the Department of General Services will fall apart in two weeks."

Shackelford, who took over the General Services department in 1992, is reportedly deciding whether to resign, sue the city or take a demotion.

He could not be reached for comment.

City Councilman Larry Brown said, "This is not simply about General Services. This is about a reorganization that's been under way for two years."

Brown asked the council to separate the people and personalities from the process to scale back government.

This phase of the overall reorganization plan is designed to create greater efficiency and improved customer service, as well as save $245,000.

When General Services is disbanded, Vehicle Services and Building Services will be encompassed by the Public Works department. Real Estate and Asset Management, Parking Management, Collections, the Downtown Transportation Center, Central Stores Warehouse and Cemetery Operations will be combined with the existing Office of Business Development.

Graphic Arts and the Mail Room will come under the Information Technologies Department. Purchasing and Contracts will move to the Finance/Business Services Department. The ward liaison staff and the Office of Federal, State and Local Initiatives will be assigned to the assistant to the city manager.

Other elements of a consolidation plan have already taken effect and saved several million dollars, Houchens said.