LV Council settles little at Williams hearing

Sito Negron

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2003 | 11:06 a.m.

Nobody was fired or exonerated and no policies were adopted in a special meeting Tuesday to discuss the pay-for-legislators scandal, but the Las Vegas City Council did set in motion a series of events that could have profound implications.

The council directed the city's "fraud committee" to forward information developed over the last couple of months to the city marshal's office, where it could lead to criminal charges being sent to the district attorney, and the council voted to continue exploring a change to a "strong mayor" system.

But some of the many questions that were not answered were those put to Mayor Oscar Goodman by Ward 5 Councilman Lawrence Weekly at the end of the three-hour meeting: "What happened? Are these people terminated? Will they go back to work?"

He was referring to former Neighborhood Services Director Sharon Segerblom and Assemblyman Wendell Williams, D-North Las Vegas, who worked under Segerblom until both were placed on leave about a month ago for the way they handled time cards and other issues during and after the 2003 Legislature.

Goodman asked City Manager Doug Selby to answer Weekly's questions, and Selby said: "At this point in time they have been advised that (firing) is our intent. We'll consider what we heard (at Tuesday's council meeting) prior to making a final decision."

For more than two months, the city has been trying to deal with a scandal that developed after the media requested Williams' cell phone records, which showed thousands of dollars in charges. After that, pay records showed he received city pay while he was serving in the Legislature.

That led to scrutiny of his 2001 time cards, which showed he and Assemblyman Morse Arberry, then his Neighborhood Services Department supervisor, were collected city pay while serving in the 2001 Legislature. Along the way, questions evolved about the city manager's role in the investigation, public employees serving as politicians, and the horse trading involved in making law.

The motion approved by council 6-0 -- with Ward 1 Councilwoman Janet Moncrief missing -- seeks to address some of those questions. In addition to approving the marshal's investigation, the City Council voted to:

That last was at issue, because the City Charter clearly states that although the city manager handles personnel issues, the council must ratify decisions to fire appointive employees. Segerblom, who was a department head before she was demoted, falls under that category.

The city attorney's office, however, maintains that Williams, although called an appointive employee, does not because he is not a department head. Larry Semenza, Williams' attorney, said he believes the charter provision does cover Williams, and he believes the council must be involved if the city manager tries to fire his client.

Tuesday's special meeting began with Goodman telling people they were under oath, and that their testimony could be used in further proceedings, including the marshal's investigation that could lead to criminal charges.

Council members took turns asking questions.

But, as Ward 4 Councilman Larry Brown noted, "every question we have (had) answered raised one, two or three more questions."

Ward 2 Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald, who called for prohibiting public employees from serving in the Legislature, said that times have changed since the early 1990s, when there was "a desire to have members of the Legislature working for the city. There was a tacit understanding ... these individuals had value."

Weekly said the situation is more far-reaching than Williams, Arberry and Segerblom.

"The city of Las Vegas had no policies, just practices," Weekly said. "If these two people are in trouble, we need to look at a couple of other people."

He said he also was disturbed at reports that linked the funding for the Doolittle Center, a $10 million project completed recently, to Williams' work in getting the annexation bill passed in 2001.

"If there was any b.s. games ... shame on all of you," he said, adding that the project was long overdue and he doesn't want it to be tainted by "humbug politics."

In the most dramatic part of the meeting, Williams rose to speak in his defense. Semenza rose with him, but Goodman told the lawyer he could not speak. As some audience members -- about 75 people, including Williams supporters, curious onlookers, politicians and media -- clapped, Goodman admonished, "please folks, this isn't a performance."

Williams started by saying he had lived in Las Vegas for 26 years, and he'd "never had any intent to put the city in any type of negative disregard."

He repeated what he has said previously, that he did not fill out his time cards during the 2001 Legislature, when he was paid for 208 hours of sick time. He said in 2003, however, the cards were returned to him in March when he tried to use 32 1/2 hours of sick time.

"That was the way it was done," Williams said, speaking of the 2001 session. When Goodman asked him if he thought it was wrong, Williams replied, "I didn't give it much thought" until the issue came up in 2003.

Williams also told council that he helped pass the annexation bill to allow the city to swallow "islands" of land owned by the county but within the municipal limits.

"If that's the case, I appreciate your effort on the bill," said Ward 6 Councilman Michael Mack, whose district includes much of that land.

Goodman asked Williams whether he had any ethical considerations about advocating a position that he'd benefit from. Williams has said that he received a promotion in 2001 because of his work on the annexation bill.

Williams said that nobody directly promised him any personal benefit, and that the items he advocated were also good public policy. The promotion, he said, came after.

"They say we'll treat you like any other employee, but when they need things they don't treat me like any other employee," said Williams of city officials who talked to him while he was in the Legislature.

The issues began to bubble up in late summer, following a string of disclosures about Williams' allegedly using his influence to get Topazia "Briget" Jones hired at Community College of Southern Nevada, failing to pay fines related to not file campaign disclosures on time, and a traffic ticket he was late in paying.

That led to the review of Williams' in the city, and also to reviews of pay records of other legislators in the valley who are public employees.

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 lost their appeals, and 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 through the Internet and telephone while in Carson City, and some office hours in Henderson on the weekend. The city of Henderson has not questioned his work record.

At CCSN, regents last week voted to fire President Ron Remington and his advisor, John Cummings. The board decided not to fire Jones, who was hired at the college by Cummings at the request of Williams.

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