Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004 | 9:44 a.m.
City settles with former officer
North Las Vegas' legal fight with former police officer Joe Austin is over after the City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a $562,500 payment to Austin.
Austin had been fighting the city since he was fired from the police force in April 1997. The city said Austin's hearing loss left him unable to fulfill his duties as a patrol officer. Austin, who had been with the force since 1971, claimed his hearing loss had existed for more than 15 years, was documented and was never an issue.
In November 2002 an arbitrator decided Austin should return to work for the city and receive about $1.1 million.
The city appealed the amount of the award, and Austin returned to work at the police department in December 2002. He quit in September, saying he had been treated unfairly after his return.
The council did not discuss the case during the Wednesday meeting before voting on the settlement.
Longtime clerk Sevigny retiring
Longtime North Las Vegas City Clerk Eileen Sevigny is retiring today, ending a more than 30-year career with the city that began when she went to work as a secretary in the police department in August 1973.
Sevigny moved to the city clerk's office in 1979 as a deputy clerk, and was made city clerk in September 1989.
Sevigny, 61, said she and her husband will travel.
Assistant City Clerk Karen Storms will take over as acting city clerk.
Storms began working for the city in December 1991 and has been the assistant city clerk for the past five years.
Storms will receive a 5 percent raise to her $97,118 annually salary while she serves as acting city clerk, City Manager Gregory Rose said.
All police officers to get Tasers
All North Las Vegas Police patrol officers will be armed with Tasers by mid-May after the City Council on Wednesday unanimously backed the purchase of 100 Tasers.
The department has been using five Tasers for the last three months as part of a trial run. The nonlethal weapons use a strong electric shock to incapacitate those hit with it.
Police Chief Mark Paresi said the Tasers have worked well the five times officers have used them during the trial period.
"We were in several situations where without the Tasers we might have had to use deadly force," Paresi said, adding that most of those cases involved people with apparent mental problems.
"The Taser is a good tool," he said. "It's safe and provides a cushion of safety for the officers."
The 100 Tasers will cost $98,000, and take 12 to 16 weeks to receive, distribute and train officers on, Paresi said.
Paresi said North Las Vegas will have the first force in which all the patrol officers will be equipped with one.
Departments get name changes
The North Las Vegas City Council changed the name of one department and created a new city department on Wednesday.
The Development Services Department was renamed the Planning and Zoning Department, and a piece of the city's Public Works Department was turned into the new Department of Utilities.
City Manager Gregory Rose said having a Utilities Department will centralize the business operations surrounding water and sewer service.
David Bereskin, who headed the utilities division of the Public Works Department, has been named acting director of the Utilities Department, Rose said.
The name change for Development Services reflects the movement of the inspections division of that department to the Public Works Department, he said.
The name Planning and Zoning Department better defines what that department does, Rose said.
City institutes drought alert
North Las Vegas fell in line with the rest of the area governments on Wednesday when the City Council unanimously approved the declaration of a drought alert, putting tighter water use regulations into effect.
The other members of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, including Clark County, Las Vegas and Henderson, are already in a drought alert. Most of those governments moved from drought watch to drought alert automatically with the beginning of the new year because of the low water level in Lake Mead.
The drought alert regulations include restrictions on car washing that require the use of commercial car washes that capture and recycle water, or the use of special high-pressure, low-volume equipment that use less than 10 gallons of water per vehicle; prohibitions and restrictions on grass in new front yards; higher fines for wasting water; and prohibitions on misting systems.
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