Tuesday, July 22, 2003 | 8:45 a.m.
The North Las Vegas City Council on Friday will appoint Assistant City Manager Gregory Rose as interim city manager, temporarily filling the vacancy created when the council fired Kurt Fritsch last week, Mayor Michael Montandon said Monday.
Rose's temporary appointment has been expected as four of the five council members, including the mayor, have said Rose would probably get the assignment. However, the formal appointment wasn't expected until the council's next regularly scheduled meeting on Aug. 6.
To speed up the process, Montandon called for Friday's special council meeting to make the temporary appointment. Montandon said there's no sense waiting to make a decision the council probably should have made right after firing Fritsch on Wednesday.
Since the firing, Rose and fellow Assistant City Manager Dan Tarwater have shared the responsibility of the top job. Under Fritsch, Rose focused on development issues and Tarwater oversaw administrative matters.
Montandon said Rose will get the nod for the interim position because most of the major departments, including public works, community development, development services, parks and fire, already answer to him. Also, the police chief and city public information officer have been reporting to Rose since Fritsch's firing because Rose is the senior assistant city manager.
Tarwater oversees the city's finance, human resources, administrative services, detention center, and city clerk departments. He also serves as liaison to Municipal Court and the North Las Vegas Library District.
Rose's $129,375 annual salary will not be increased, Montandon said, but Rose has expressed an interest in becoming the next permanent city manager.
The mayor said the council will probably take a few months to find a new city manager. The search will include advertising through government-oriented magazines and the International City/County Management Association, he said.
Rose was hired as an assistant city manager in February 2001. Before coming to North Las Vegas he worked as a deputy city manager in University City, Mo., and was an assistant city manager in Warrensburg, Mo. Rose has a master's degree in public affairs and a bachelor of science in public administration from the University of Texas at Dallas.
The council voted 5-0 on Wednesday to fire Fritsch without first meeting to discuss Fritsch's job performance or explaining their votes during the meeting.
Since the vote, council members have been vague about why they decided to get rid of Fritsch, saying they wanted to go in a different direction.
About a week before the vote, the council rejected an offer from Fritsch that he resign in a few months and receive severance pay.
By firing Fritsch before the end of his contract, the council opted instead to pay him half of his $150,000 salary plus pay for any accrued vacation days and half of his unused sick days.
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