Assistant county manager Alastuey resigns from post

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, April 17, 2002 | 9:51 a.m.

Just three months after he was taken off the troubled Regional Justice Center project, Assistant Clark County Manager Mike Alastuey announced his resignation Tuesday.

Alastuey's decision comes in the middle of a retrospective analysis into why two county projects have run $33 million over budget and one week after he had a heated exchange with Clark County Commission Chairman Dario Herrera.

Alastuey on Tuesday said his decision had nothing to do with either event.

"This is a situation where I've had a long and very fruitful career in public service," Alastuey said. "This is strictly a personal decision and right for me and my family. My family comes first."

Alastuey has been in public service for 30 years and has been at the county for four years.

Clark County Manager Thom Reilly, who said he will conduct a national search for a replacement, said Alastuey approached him about retiring in January. Reilly said he hopes to use Alastuey as a consultant to assist the county with taxation issues -- an area in which Alastuey specializes.

"We'll be talking about some relationship yet to be defined," Reilly said.

Alastuey was pulled off the Regional Justice Center and Clark County Detention Center expansion in January after chronic delays. Both projects will be more than a year behind schedule when they open.

Last week during a budget workshop for commissioners, Herrera appeared to become agitated with Alastuey when Alastuey disagreed with his assessment on how taking $3 million from a county computer fund would affect services. Herrera wanted the money to help the state in its battle to keep nuclear waste from being stored at Yucca Mountain.

When Alastuey said taking the money from the computer fund would cause a "severe function problem," Herrera criticized Alastuey for suggesting the commissioner would risk public safety to find the funding.