Thursday, Oct. 16, 2003 | 11:12 a.m.
Records from 2001 indicate that Assemblyman Wendell Williams billed Las Vegas for hundreds of hours while he was serving in the state Legislature between February and June of that year.
The records indicate that Williams billed Las Vegas for 527 1/2 hours worked between Feb. 3 and June 23. In addition, he 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 $36.38.
It appears the findings will become part of the city's investigation into Williams' claims for time worked in the 2003 legislative session.
"What's come to light is that Mr. Williams in the 1997 and 1999 legislative sessions took most of his time as leave without pay, however, in 2001 and 2003 there was a deviation from that," said David Riggleman, Las Vegas communications director.
In 2003, Williams billed the city for more than 700 hours through August, and agreed to reduce that by 208.5 hours after supervisors questioned the amount. The agreement cost Williams $6,700, more than a month's worth of salary, at his current hourly rate of $43.42 an hour.
However, Williams went on a speaking binge after the agreement, claiming he was coerced into the agreement by supervisors who wanted to squash media scrutiny into the time cards. The city is investigating his allegation, and another claim he made that some of his time cards were forged.
Betsy Fretwell, the deputy city manager who is overseeing the investigation, said Michael Chambliss, a co-worker of Williams, signed Williams cards for him. The two worked together in a now-closed satellite office of the Neighborhood Services department.
"Since there were only two employees there it wouldn't be unusual for someone from the office sign the time card," she said. However, the person who signs the card for someone else typically initials it, she said.
She said that was not cause for any disciplinary action, although "it would have been clearer if some initialing had taken place."
Fretwell said she hoped to wrap up the investigation at the end of the week, when City Manager Doug Selby is expected to return form an out of town trip.
In an unrelated inquiry, the city also has assigned a deputy city attorney to look into whether Williams violated the Hatch Act, which restricts partisan political activities by government employees whose programs receive federal funding.
Williams admitted during a taping of "Face to Face With Jon Ralston" on Las Vegas ONE, Cox cable channels 1 and 39, last week to handling a federal grant for a city-run program called EVOLVE, Educational and Vocational Opportunities Leading to Valuable Experience.
Williams, who works for the city of Las Vegas as a senior management analyst in the Neighborhood Services Department, said he also followed up on the issue while in the Legislature.
Virginia Valentine, who was city manager from 1998-2002, said she never knew about Williams' work in the 2001 legislative session.
"As city manager, I'm responsible for it," she said. However, she added, she only signs the time cards of those she directly supervises, and Williams was not one of them.
She said she did ask Sharon Segerblom, who is now Williams' supervisor, to "make sure everything was kosher."
"Sharon assured me ... there was no problem," Valentine said.
Segerblom said she could not respond to the issues raised by Valentine.
"I've been asked not to talk until the investigation is complete," she said.
Valentine said there were several reasons for not wanting Williams to work for the city while serving in the Legislature.
"For one thing, there's a credibility issue, can you really work that much time and still serve (as a legislator)?" Valentine said.
"Also, it's inappropriate to be essentially what would be considered double dipping by many" by getting a state and city salary, with benefits, at the same time, she said. "To be getting two taxpayer checks at the same time seems a little over the top."
The 2003 and 2001 legislative sessions were not the only ones in which Williams claimed to be doing city work while the Legislature was meeting. In 1997, he was overpaid almost $6,000, according to city records.
Time cards filed during the time the Legislature was in session include are three entries for the two-week periods ending April 19, May 17, and June 14 that place 72 hours of unpaid leave in the wrong column.
The 1997 time sheets indicate that he was paid $220.26 every two weeks, at eight hours per pay period, between Feb. 8 and June 28. In almost every case, Williams listed 72 hours of unpaid leave and eight hours of vacation time, an arrangement that allowed him to maintain his health coverage, according to a Jan. 29, 1997 memo.
However, there were three pay periods where the 72 hours of leave are written into the wrong column, and he was paid $1,984.15 each time. Those were the periods for which he was to have repaid the city, according to the records, which show that he returned one uncashed check. However, it does not indicate when he repaid the rest.
Williams has not been available for comment to the Sun since September, although he has spoken to other media outlets.
In addition to the time card issue, Williams also agreed to pay back $1,844 for calls made from his city cell phone in 2003. He returned to work Monday after two weeks away from the office, although city officials never confirmed a suspension in relation to the cell phone use.
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