Auditor for LV reviews time cards

Sito Negron

Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2003 | 11:06 a.m.

Las Vegas Neighborhood Services Department Director Sharon Segerblom and department administrator Wendell Williams continue to be on leave with pay while the city auditor reviews the issues surrounding time cards filed for Williams and Morse Arberry in the 2001 Legislative session.

Williams had initially returned to work after serving a two-week suspension in late September that was related to overuse of his city-issued cell phone while he was in the Legislature this spring. City Manager Doug Selby said Monday, "For management reasons we decided to keep those who were involved in this (time card controversy) on leave pending results of the follow-up investigation by the city auditor."

The auditor's review is due to be completed sometime this week, Mayor Oscar Goodman has said. The review of the handling of time cards filed by Williams and Arberry, Democratic Party legislators in the Assembly who worked for the city in 2001, is meant to assess whether city policies were violated and if so by whom. Williams continues to work for the city. Arberry retired from the city before the most recent session.

The review of the time cards is the second to be conducted by the city since the Sun began investigating Williams' time cards. The first city review, performed by the city manager's office, concluded that the city ought to consider firing Williams and Segerblom, his supervisor, for their mishandling of his leave and sick time.

That inquiry, by Deputy City Manager Betsy Fretwell, and and questions that developed regarding time cards from 2001, led to the second review by the auditor.

"We're progressing on it; it's just a matter of time," said City Auditor Radford Snelding, who reports to the mayor and council. "There are a lot of people to talk to, a lot of records to look at."

He said the report likely would include "recommendations on operational issues and other things related to that." The information in the report could be the basis for disciplinary action, although Snelding said that "what (supervisors) do and how they utilize the information we supply is their call, not ours."

Fretwell's inquiry reviewed Williams' allegations that he was forced to change his 2003 time cards -- for which he ended up agreeing to pay the city back $6,700 -- because of pressure from his bosses. The report said that was not so, and that Williams and Segerblom did not follow procedure to note leave and sick time.

The Sun learned that in 2001 Williams billed the city for 527.5 hours of work time between Feb. 3 and June 23, while the Legislature was meeting. He also billed 208.25 hours of sick time, 112.25 hours of vacation time, and 32 hours of holiday time in that period. He received $32,014 at an hourly rate of $38.36.

Arberry noted 1,040 hours in 2001, including 190 hours of sick time, in a similar time frame.

The city sick leave policy allows time off for illness or injury, to attend a funeral, to care for an immediate family member, and to attend a medical or dental appointment.

Williams was not available for comment Monday, and Segerblom has been told by her supervisors not to comment.

The questions Williams' Las Vegas time cards led to a review of time cards from other lawmakers who are public employees in the valley.

In Clark County, Democratic Assembly members Kelvin Atkinson and Kathy McClain, who are county employees, were fired when officials noted that they filed for sick days when the legislative record indicated they were present for at least part of a session.

Both have appealed, and Atkinson and McClain have asked for an independent arbitrator to take up the issue.

Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, who is deputy chief of the Henderson Police Department, received full-time pay during the time the Legislature was in session through a combination of vacation hours and working about 19 hours a week. He has said he was working via the Internet and by telephone while in Carson City, and put in some office hours in Henderson on the weekend. The city of Henderson has not questioned his work record.

Of late, Perkins has said he supports proposals to force public employees to take leaves of absence while serving in the Legislature.

The issue of time cards at the Henderson and Las Vegas city halls was not the only one confronting officials trying to weigh the roles of their employees against the time spent as a lawmaker for the Legislature.

The Las Vegas City Attorney's office reviewed whether Williams violated the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political activities by government employees whose programs receive federal funding.

Williams talked about his handling of a federal grant for a city-run program called EVOLVE, Educational and Vocational Opportunities Leading to Valuable Experience, during an early October taping of the show "Face to Face With Jon Ralston" on Las Vegas ONE. Williams said he also followed up on the issue while in the Legislature.

The city attorney's office last week recommended that the city get an opinion on Williams' Hatch Act status from the federal Office of the Special Counsel, which oversees enforcement of the act.

Selby, who has been out of the office recently, said he hasn't talked to the city attorney's office yet. He said he wasn't sure whether the recommendation could be followed administratively, or whether it would take City Council action.

"I actually have to talk to (the city attorney) to find out the procedure for that. It's new ground for me," he said.

Perkins also dealt with the Hatch Act issue. Since Jan. 2001, the City of Henderson has paid about $36,100 for an outside law firm to provide legal advice on the Hatch Act. According to the bills, the work included assistance with the development of a Hatch Act compliance program.

Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, who is also a Henderson deputy police chief, has said the compliance program and other measures taken by the department have kept him free from Hatch Act violations.

The federal Office of Special Counsel notified Perkins that if he runs for re-election and keeps his city job he will be in violation of the Hatch Act, but Perkins said he is confident the office will change its opinion after they hear more about the city's efforts to keep him from overseeing federal funds.

Perkins has said he will repay the city for any future Hatch Act-related legal fees and will review past bills to see if he should reimburse the city for past expenses.