Kerstein takes over as chief of Henderson Police

Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2005 | 9:32 a.m.

Alan Kerstein settled into his new job Monday as Henderson Police chief earning $144,721. He already has a home in the Anthem area, and the city plans to reimburse him $2,500 for his move from California, city officials said.

The scenario of a new chief starting a new job sounds nothing out of the ordinary. The one difference is that the Henderson City Council won't vote until tonight on whether to ratify the selection by City Manager Phil Speight.

No one expects anything other than the council to go along with Speight's recommendation. The council can only vote up or down on Kerstein's appointment and doesn't have the authority to nominate its own candidates.

But the city's handling of the chief selection process raises a question as to whether Henderson has violated the state's open meeting law. On July 14, Henderson council members met with Kerstein on an individual basis and on July 19 Speight tabbed him for the job, pending a council vote today.

Kent Lauer, executive director of the Nevada Press Association, said a violation of the open meeting law occurred if the majority of the council members took part in individual meetings held for the purpose of avoiding the open meeting law.

He said the intent is difficult to prove but "you have to suspect that the reason for serial meetings is to avoid the discussion in public."

Henderson officials maintain they've done nothing improper and scoff at any suggestions the open meeting law may have been violated. City officials said they pride themselves on following the law and boast there have been no complaints of violations filed with the state attorney general's office.

"There is no open meeting law violation and there never has been," said Henderson City Attorney Shauna Hughes.

Speight called the one-on-one meetings between Kerstein and council members as informal discussions just to get to know him and that there was no deliberation by council members, even with him.

Lauer said there is no need for deliberations between board members to trigger a violation of the law.

If someone files a complaint, the state attorney general investigates open meeting law violations. If the attorney general determines a violation has occurred, the office can file a lawsuit in civil lawsuit to overturn the action and seek compliance.

Hughes said there's nothing improper about Kerstein already assuming his new role even though the vote hasn't occurred. She said Kerstein has the support of Speight and the three panels that interviewed the chief finalists, and that there's no chance the council would reject him.

"There is not a lot of internal fighting among this council with the community and staff," Hughes said. "The odds of it being an issue are virtually zero."

Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers, who requested a meeting with Kerstein to make sure she was comfortable in selecting him as chief, said she doesn't consider the sessions a violation of the open meeting law. She said the council ratification is more ceremonial, and there's nothing wrong with Kerstein starting work already.

"I don't see it as strange because we only meet twice monthly, and the city still has to be run," Cyphers said.

Councilman Jack Clark said he was a little nervous about Kerstein starting work before the ratification vote but said the council didn't violate the open meeting law.

"It would be a stretch to say it is a technical violation," Clark said. "We didn't deliberate or discuss it. We just met the guy."