Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Commissioners advised on double-dipping case

County Manager Thom Reilly has advised his bosses on the Clark County Commission of the recommendations for disciplining two county employees and legislators who are accused of "double-dipping," taking pay from the county and the state for the same hours.

Reilly said he was not lobbied by the commissioners on the issue, and the discussions with the commissioners came only after the recommendations had been issued. Reilly, as he has before, declined to say Wednesday what was included in the disciplinary recommendations, but county officials have confirmed that the recommendation is to fire Kathy McClain and Kelvin Atkinson, both employees in the county's Parks and Community Services Department.

According to pay records provided to the Las Vegas Sun, both billed the county for hours when they worked in the Assembly during the extended session last summer.

When the dust settles, the County Commission may have to look at what happened and why, and then decide if the process and punishment worked, Commissioner Rory Reid said.

"This commission has tried to increase people's faith in government, and there's maybe an area where we need to do some work," Reid said. "We may need to look at our policy and make sure it is appropriate."

Reid, who with Commissioner Bruce Woodbury launched a drive to clarify ethical issues for elected county officials and department heads, also said the issue of what should be done on the double-dipping issue is up to Reilly.

"It's a personnel issue, and personnel issues are generally in the province of the manager's office," he said.

At least one commissioner argues that termination is too harsh a punishment, at least for McClain.

"Do I think there's some extenuating circumstances? Yes, I do," Commissioner Myrna Williams said.

Williams said she has become a friend and admirer of McClain's work during McClain's years at the county as an advocate for seniors.

"She's been a great employee all these years," Williams said. "She has worked beyond her hours that she is supposed to put in on this job."

Williams noted that McClain's time-card problems happened during the chaos of the special sessions, when the Senate and Assembly tried for weeks to craft a tax and budget package.

"I think with all the insanity going on, she just wasn't thinking," Williams said.

Williams said she told Reilly how she felt on the issue. Reilly said the conversation was appropriate.

"I did not take it as lobbying and it was definitely not a request," he said. "She expressed her concerns, but she didn't say change the recommendation."

Reilly said it is important that commissioners feel free to express their thoughts on issues. He said the board generally supports his right to make sometimes tough decisions.

"The current board, they pretty much let me be the administrator," he said. "They have pretty much left the administrative decisions to me. That doesn't mean they always support them."

Williams joined other commissioners in saying that the decision on appropriate personnel action falls to the Reilly and the county's department heads.

Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates agreed.

"We're his boss, but he is the administrator," she said. "He's the one who is responsible."

Gates, a former county staff member who served as a Clark County School District trustee from 1985 to 1992, said she sometimes had to juggle "comp" time or vacation time to fulfill her responsibilities to both the school board and the county.

But Gates, who said she is not related to Kelvin Atkinson, said she never submitted time cards for county pay for periods when she worked on school business.

According to county records, McClain worked June 25 and 26, and July 21, when the Legislature was in session. She took sick days July 16 and 17, but legislative records indicate she was present on those days.

Atkinson reported working May 10, 17 and 31, and July 16 and 21. He claimed sick days July 17 and 18, although he attended legislative sessions.

McClain has not publicly commented on the issue. Atkinson has said he worked the hours claimed and did not abuse sick-time policies.

Both McClain and Atkinson are scheduled to face their department head, in this case Parks and Community Services Director Patricia Marchese, Friday. They can accept the recommendation of the county administration, reportedly for termination, or they can appeal the decision.

An appeal ultimately would go to a federal arbitration.

Reilly said the fact that the employees in question are also members of the Assembly did not play a role in drafting the recommendations. His office and the Human Resources Department drafted the recommendation "ensuring that we not treat them more leniently or more severely than other employees," Reilly said.

McClain has been a member of the Nevada Assembly since 1999; last summer's extended session was her third. McClain, a member of the Nevada Commission on Aging, 2001-2003, is a member of many national, state and local political and social service organizations. She is widely considered an expert on legal, social and other issues affecting older Americans. McClain, 59, was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2000 and received the Women's Democratic Club Freshman Female Legislator Award a year earlier.

Atkinson, 34, is also a Democrat. His official Assembly biography lists him as a member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Recruitment Council, Black Public Administrators, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Alliance for Retired Americans, and the Urban Development Caucus.

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