Ethics task force chief backs full-time County Commission

Adrienne Packer

Friday, June 25, 1999 | 2:13 a.m.

For more than a year, Larry Spitler not only studied ethics violations that plagued Clark County but sifted through dozens of policies that government officials across the country relied upon for guidance.

One of the conclusions the ethics task force chairman drew from his research was this: Clark County needs a full-time commission.

"If we were still a sleepy little community and weren't growing at the rate we are, this wouldn't be an issue," Spitler said Thursday. "It is time to start looking at full-time commissioners."

County board members made frequent trips before the state Ethics Commission last year and ever since the board's every move has been scrutinized.

County Commissioner Lance Malone's new part-time job as an account executive with The Freeman Companies, a Las Vegas convention service business, raised ethics questions this week.

Malone, who is also a Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority board member, defended his decision to accept the job, saying the LVCVA has no control over which companies are hired to set up exhibits during conventions. Critics argued that hotel-casinos hosting the events might strongly encourage associations hosting the conventions to use The Freeman Companies.

Malone has a marketing degree from UNLV and said he needed to supplement his $54,000 a year salary from the county to support his family.

The first-term commissioner isn't the only board member to hold a second job. Commission Chairman Bruce Woodbury is an attorney, Mary Kincaid owns Kincaid's Flower Korner and Dario Herrera is a partner with the public relations firm Massmedia.

"Someone is always going to have a conflict of interest because these are powerful people," Spitler said. "That begs the question: Should they be full time?"

According to the National Associations of Counties (NACo), there are no set guidelines indicating when counties should have full-time board members. Neither population nor pay is a factor.

Oakland County, Mich., for example, has a population of about 1 million and its board members work part time and earn $25,000 a year, according to NACo. Commissioners in Baylor County, Texas -- population 4,385 -- are full time and earn $51,000 annually.

"It does vary all over the country," said Tom Goodman, director of public affairs at NACo in Washington D.C. "It's a decision made locally. The state government has the authority to decide how the county should be organized."

Robert Stern, director of the national Council on Governmental Ethics Laws, said if residents believe county commissioners should hold only one job, they should support a movement to make the board full time and double the pay.

In 1990, he said, Los Angeles City Council members started working full time with the understanding they cannot accept another job. They earn more than $100,000 annually.

"The lower the pay, the more conflicts you have because the lower you pay, the more people need to have outside jobs," Stern said.

Herrera, the newest member of the Clark County Commission, said if the board's hours changed, Nevada's history of having citizen government would be sacrificed.

"That's an issue that a lot of arguments can be made on both sides," Herrera said. "As a full-time commissioner, you can avoid any type of potential conflict. The downside is you create what some Nevada residents loath and that's professional politicians."

When Herrera accepted his position at Massmedia in January, he insisted he would go further than simply disclosing relationships with clients and abstaining from votes.

"It's imperative that you just not disclose and abstain the day of the meeting, but proactively recuse yourself from any conversation that would in any way, shape or form be perceived as a potential conflict," Herrera said.

Woodbury, who was investigated by the Ethics Commission despite having abstained from a vote on a controversial airport concession contract that involved a client, said he doesn't see a need for commissioners to work full time.

"We have a county-manager form of government," he said. "As long as commissioners are careful about keeping away from conflicts, I think it works out reasonably well."