Askew: Role with local firm is no conflict

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, Jan. 25, 2001 | 11 a.m.

Clark County Manager Dale Askew dismissed his role with a local consulting firm Wednesday as a "ministerial function" that does not conflict with his job as the county's top administrator.

Askew is the resident agent for former county finance director Guy Hobbs' firm, Hobbs Ong & Associates Inc., a Las Vegas consulting company periodically hired by Clark County.

"I agreed to be Guy's resident agent for a corporation he formed in 1996; it was a favor to a friend," Askew said. "It's a ministerial function. I get no compensation and have no financial interest in any of his companies."

Hobbs listed Askew as a resident agent -- a contact person for a corporation -- after Askew left the county and took a job with Mercy Ambulance. Askew later returned when he was hired as county manager.

The controversy came to light this week when community activist Bob Hall learned Air Quality Division Director Christine Robinson had recommended Hobbs' company for a contract to perform an audit of her division's Emission Reduction Credit program.

Although Hobbs' bid was lower than the competition, Hall believes the national firm of DeLoitte & Touche should have been hired.

Hall said Hobbs has too many ties to local government and has done business with organizations such as the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, which sometimes conflicts with air quality programs. Therefore, he said, Hobbs might be less objective.

"He gets so much of his business by and through the county, I'm saying the pressure on them is to report good news," Hall said. "That is not the job of an auditor."

Robinson has said Hobbs is qualified to conduct the audit because his company is local and understands issues affecting the program.

Hobbs' company has been awarded two other contracts since he began his business. Askew didn't know how much the contracts, which were approved by commissioners, were worth but said his only role was to process the meeting agendas.

A Regional Planning Coalition ad hoc committee on which Askew serves also recommended Hobbs for a contract to study the feasibility of creating a single air quality commission.

"I voted to recommend Guy, but he was the only consultant before us," Askew said. "Nobody else responded (to the request for proposals)."