Thursday, July 17, 2003 | 11:04 a.m.
The North Las Vegas City Council without discussion fired City Manager Kurt Fritsch on Wednesday, ending speculation that became public about three weeks ago after Fritsch told his top staff some council members were working to oust him.
"As the city has grown ... you look for a certain visioning and forward looking and the day-to-day herding of the cats," Mayor Michael Montandon said, referring to the council members as the cats. "He hasn't been able to do both of those things."
Montandon refused to elaborate, and other council members did not add much to explain their unanimous vote to fire Fritsch.
"There were some differences in philosophies and personnel issues, and if he wants to explain those, he can," Councilman Robert Eliason said. Eliason, who made the motion to fire Fritsch immediately, refused to further comment.
Council women Stephanie Smith and Shari Buck said the council wanted to go in a different direction, and both refused to elaborate.
Councilman William Robinson refused to comment after the vote. Last week Robinson said that while he thought Fritsch had "done OK so far," he wanted to speak with his fellow council members before deciding whether he would support keeping Fritsch.
Fritsch also refused to comment following the vote on his termination, which came a year after the same City Council gave him a $10,000 raise and a three-year contract extension. Fritsch made $150,000 a year and received a $300 a month car allowance.
On June 25 Fritsch confirmed he had told his top staff that some council members were trying to push him out. Fritsch said Buck had told him she wanted a change and more power. Following the vote, Buck again refused to comment on Fritsch's remarks.
Assistant City Managers Gregory Rose and Dan Tarwater will share the responsibilities of running the day-to-day city operations until the council chooses an interim city manager Aug. 6, council members said. Montandon said Rose will probably be named interim city manager.
The mayor also said the council will take its time in finding a new city manager. Council members said they have not yet discussed how they will go about the search.
Before Wednesday council members had been reluctant to talk about Fritsch's pending job review. In addition to Robinson's comments, the mayor had said he was aware that some council members had some serious issues with Fritsch, but he did not elaborate.
According to the agenda for the Wednesday meeting, the council was to meet behind closed doors to discuss Fritsch's job performance and then act on whatever decision they made.
But when the council reached that part of the agenda, Montandon decided to skip the closed-door session and ask the council if anyone had a motion to make on Fritsch's tenure.
Eliason moved to fire Fritsch effective immediately, and Buck seconded the motion, which was then approved by a 5-0 vote without any discussion.
Montandon said he chose to switch the agenda items because the vote made an evaluation of Fritsch's job performance unnecessary.
Fritsch asked if the firing complied with a section in the City Charter that calls for the council to provide a written explanation for the firing and allows the city manager to request a public hearing on the matter.
City Attorney Sean McGowan said that in this case Fritsch's contract supersedes the charter and so the council action was allowed.
Fritsch will receive severance pay because he was not fired for cause, which his contract defines as conviction of a felony or the unlawful participation in a decision in which he had a conflict of interest. Fritsch's severance is half of one year's salary plus pay for any accrued vacation days and half of his unused sick days.
Even though Fritsch had warned his staff weeks ago that he could be on the way out, officials said the change was probably causing some concern for some city staff.
"I'm sure every time there's change it's disrupting," Smith said. "I can't say it was a shock, but it's unpleasant."
Smith said the firing in a way shows how volatile the city manager's position is in the fast-growing city.
"It reflects how dynamic North Las Vegas is," Smith said.
Fritsch is North Las Vegas' third city manager in the past five years. Linda Hinson resigned in 1998 after the council voted 4-1 not to renew her contract. Her successor, Pat Importuna, left the job in 2000 less than two years into a six-year contract. He took a similar job in California.
Fritsch was promoted from assistant city manager to city manager in July 2000.
Rose, who specializes in development issues, said he hopes the staff will see the firing as an issue between the council and Fritsch only.
"Certainly there was an awareness for the potential for a change in city leadership because of Kurt's comments during the staff meeting," Rose said. "But until the City Council takes action, you don't know."
Rose said he hasn't seen any morale problems at City Hall.
"We're all professionals and have our jobs to do," he said.
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