Letter: More transparency would benefit the public

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2006 | 7:22 a.m.

Clark County Manager Virginia Valentine and the Nevada Legislature are absolutely right about selecting engineers and architects based on qualifications rather than bidding.

It wasn't always this way in Nevada. During those days there was more cronyism and behind-the-scenes shenanigans occurring than the concerns the Las Vegas Sun expressed in its Dec. 19 editorial, "Open the bidding."

Is it a perfect world? Absolutely not, but it's more open and transparent now than then.

Politics are politics, and elected officials who rely on professional staff or independent third parties to determine who the most qualified design professional is for a project are doing the right thing for the public they serve.

With the exception of large, complex projects, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Clark County and the Clark County School District have processes by which they qualify design professionals and then use them based on their ranking as projects come along. Henderson relies on its professional staff to determine who is best suited and most qualified for providing professional services for its projects; both systems work equally well for protecting the public's interests.

Making the process even more transparent would benefit the public. This could easily occur by inviting members of the community to serve on public agency review and selection committees and by having finalists make public presentations at council and commission meetings - but leaving the final recommendation process to the selection committee.

Robert Fielden, Las Vegas