City Council to take hard look at ethics panel’s future

Diana Sahagun

Monday, July 30, 2001 | 11:11 a.m.

The Las Vegas City Council is expected this week to vote on several issues, not the least of which involves the fate of the city's ethics board.

Also expected during Wednesday's council meeting is a vote on whether to scrap or change the controversial requirements for work cards.

The council also plans to send a message to Southwest Sports Group, the proposed master developer of 61 acres downtown. The council is scheduled to make a formal decision as to whether to allow for the construction of a sports stadium on the property.

The council's vote could affect the company's decision as to whether it will remain on board with the project.

The fate of the ethics board is especially significant, as the board's decision will affect Las Vegas City Councilmen Michael Mack and Larry Brown, who are scheduled to appear before the ethics board Aug. 16.

The councilmen have been accused of having a conflict of interest when they voted last month to deny a Nissan car dealership in the northwest that was proposed by John Staluppi Jr. The complaint alleges Mack and Brown tried to broker a deal between Staluppi and rival car dealer Joseph Scala, who owns land inside Town Center, where the city wants new car dealerships to locate.

Mack did not disclose until after the vote that he had accepted a $60,000 loan from Scala. Mack ultimately asked for the item to be reconsidered so he could abstain from the vote, but the project was denied by the council a second time.

Mack and Brown are also facing a lawsuit seeking their removal from office. They also face an ethics hearing before the Nevada Ethics Commission that is based on their denial of the car dealership.

The council will choose between two measures sponsored by City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald. One would eliminate the board, leaving the Nevada Ethics Commission to handle ethics complaints involving public officials.

City officials, including Mayor Oscar Goodman, have complained about the ethics board. Critics say there is little due process and that board members have little power.

Another option would involve revising the ethics code, giving additional rights to city officials facing allegations of unethical conduct. It would also closely mirror the Nevada Ethics Commission by creating a two-member screening panel and allowing for evidence to be submitted on behalf of the official who is the subject of the complaint.

The screening panel would decide whether the complaint should result in a full hearing. A similar panel, which is part of the state commission, is designed to weed out frivolous complaints.

Another revision to the code would place an increased burden on the person filing the complaint. This, city officials say, would protect officials from frivolous or politically-motivated complaints.

The person making the complaint would be required to submit additional information supporting the complaint -- not just newspaper reports or city materials -- including sworn statements, investigative reports or both.

The panel could dismiss the complaint if no written evidence is submitted in support of it, or if the only evidence submitted consists of newspaper articles.

As is the case with the state's ethics board, the city official facing the complaint would be allowed to present information and evidence, as well as have the board subpoena witnesses. In the past, city officials could not question their accusers or submit evidence that could help their case.

The board would also have the power to fine the person filing the complaint up to $1,000 if the members determine the complaint was filed in bad faith or for "vexatious purposes."

Another revision would be to allow only city residents to file complaints. The new rule would also allow the board to dismiss the complaint if it was also filed to the Nevada Ethics Commission.

Also, the council is scheduled to determine the future of work cards. Currently, there are 26 jobs -- including maids and apartment house managers -- that require work cards. The council is slated discuss whether to eliminate or revise the list of occupations that require work cards.

Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, and Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, have questioned the need for the cards.

Clark County revised its work card ordinance, requiring that only a casino's "key employees" -- workers who have direct access to safes and casino cash -- obtain work cards.

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