Monday, March 1, 1999 | 11:10 a.m.
Clark County Commissioners are expected to establish an ethics policy Tuesday that will provide guidelines for all elected and appointed county officials.
The long-awaited ethics standards are a combined effort of a citizens task force, which spent months studying other states' laws, and recommendations made by Commissioner Lance Malone.
Most of the policies deal with conflicts of interest, which haunted board members last year and propelled the topic of ethics to the forefront.
Many of the new policies are related to procedures at McCarran International Airport.
The most significant change would prohibit contract applicants from lobbying commissioners until the finalists are forwarded to the board for approval. Any previous contact would result in disqualification.
New policies dealing with airport concessionaire contracts likely will receive the most attention.
Soon to be gone are the days when commissioners chose names from a list of applicants, a method that landed Malone and Yvonne Atkinson Gates in trouble with the Nevada Ethics Commission.
Contracts would be awarded at the airport three ways: The master concessionaire could, with the County Commission's approval, negotiate directly with applicants; the Department of Aviation could also, with permission, deal with applicants; or the Department of Aviation could select an applicant, then seek approval from the commissioners.
The airport has two master concessionaires: Host Marriott oversees food and beverage services and W.H. Smith oversees retail space.
The new policy says the master concessionaires and airport staff together would determine what type of business is needed and advertise for proposals.
They then would submit the best-suited business to the board members for approval.
Contracts that don't fall under the master concessionaires' jurisdiction could be negotiated by the Department of Aviation. Airport officials or a citizens committee would look over proposals and submit a choice of applicant to the board.
Some commissioners have said they would like to do away with the master concessionaire concept, though nothing could be done until their contracts expire in 2008.
Board member Mary Kincaid said some subleasees have complained that W.H. Smith and Host Marriott, which both have stores, gobble up the best spaces. She referred to it as "the fox watching the hen house."
The final policy to be discussed Tuesday deals with former elected officials.
Any professional services contract under $25,000 -- which typically does not have to be approved by the commission -- must go before the board if a former official is a sole proprietor or owns controlling interest in the firm.
The policy applies only to former officials who left the county less than a year before applying for the contract.
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