LV seeks to increase mayor’s power to handle emergencies

Sito Negron

Friday, Aug. 22, 2003 | 11:42 a.m.

City attorneys are developing an ordinance giving the mayor more authority -- including the ability to order evacuations -- to manage such emergencies as Tuesday's sudden deluge and the subsequent flooding.

The ordinance would be based on research from other cities and rely heavily upon documents developed for the emergency training Mayor Oscar Goodman and other municipal officials attended in Maryland last week, City Attorney Brad Jerbic said Thursday. He said he hoped to have a proposal before the City Council within a month and a half.

"(The city's emergency response ordinance) has not been looked at or amended in 10 years," he said. "We want to be current and in a position to respond to disasters using the most modern methods and techniques available."

The city charter cedes to the mayor's general authority to manage emergencies. However, the specific actions the mayor is authorized to take are outlined in the city code, which allows him to "impose by proclamation" prohibiting or otherwise regulating:

Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Nevada, said it was not "unreasonable" for the mayor to want to be able to handle emergencies effectively. However, he said, the devil is in the details.

"Since we are living in a time when I believe there is a need to be constantly vigilant about ensuring that government is properly balancing the public interest with individual rights, now, since they have indicated that for them it is a priority issue, we will certainly pay attention to what they propose," Peck said.

Jerbic said public scrutiny is key to the process.

"We're guardians of the public trust," he said. "That's why when we draft these things we make them available to people so those issues concerning civil liberties can be debated."

Ward 5 Councilman Lawrence Weekly said the mayor must be given an opportunity to lead in times of crisis.

"Oscar is the mayor of the city of Las Vegas, and I appreciate the fact that he stepped up to the plate (Tuesday) and tried to bring calm. There were people panicking," Weekly said. "In time of crisis, people are looking for direction. ... They elected him mayor so why not give him that opportunity?"

Goodman also emphasized that he's merely looking for what will best serve the city.

"This is not a power grab," Goodman said in introducing the proposal at his Thursday news conference. "This is just to clarify with specificity what (the mayor can and cannot do)."

For example, he said, the ordinance does not address the issue of evacuations. Luckily, the issue did not arise during Tuesday's brief but vicious storm; however, had one of the detention basins threatened to burst, it would have been a different story.

Officials in other valley cities said the issue has not come up.

Boulder City Mayor Bob Ferraro said he doesn't think he has any special emergency powers, and doesn't think he needs to any.

North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon said he thinks his emergency powers are limited to being able to call for the opening of the city's emergency operations center. When put into action, the operations center is staffed with police, fire and public works officials.