City Hall enters new era of cell-phone caution

Erin Neff

Friday, Aug. 4, 2000 | 11:20 a.m.

Las Vegas City Hall is awash in a sudden era of restraint, at least when it comes to cellular phone use.

The city's release of cell phone bills for 365 city employees, and the news stories it has generated, sparked both the silencing of some phones and a more careful review of the bills.

One city staffer on Thursday left a phone message saying: "Call me back at my office or my cell. Wait, not on my cell."

"Right now it's like every time I pick up the phone to make a call, I'm wondering if the people around me suspect I'm calling home," said another staffer.

City Manager Virginia Valentine has already said she suspects supervisors will pay closer scrutiny to the bills of the employees they oversee.

Both Valentine and Mayor Oscar Goodman said Thursday that the decision to suspend mayoral aide William Cassidy without pay was a result of his excessive cell phone use coupled with the fact that he didn't pay for his personal calls until after the Sun's request for the records.

"He wasn't current on the phone until it was brought to the city's attention," Goodman said.

But others who make every effort to pay the city back for personal calls were also affected by the news reports.

Communications Manager David Riggleman, Deputy Public Works Director John McNellis and Valentine were listed with others who didn't pay anything back to the city until July.

Yet Riggleman's total was $1.76, McNellis paid back 77 cents and Valentine repaid 11 cents.

"I even paid what I did out of a complete abundance of caution," Riggleman said. "I thought they were city calls but couldn't be sure."