Las Vegas eyes own roster to fill coming city manager opening

By Sam Skolnik (contact)

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Sanchez

Fretwell

It appears likely that outgoing Las Vegas City Manager Doug Selby will be replaced by one of his deputies, Betsy Fretwell, City Hall sources confirm.

The city manager, who controls the city’s day-to-day operations, may have the second most important post in Las Vegas after Mayor Oscar Goodman. And the job is increasingly critical with the city facing its most serious financial crisis in decades.

Goodman and the other six City Council members are poised to promote from within — possibly as early as next week — rather than conduct a lengthy nationwide search for Selby’s replacement. City Hall officials suggest this makes sense, especially because Fretwell, an experienced and well-regarded manager, is available.

Selby’s retirement is likely to coincide with major streamlining in the top ranks of city management. Not only is Fretwell the favorite to get Selby’s job — Deputy City Manager Orlando Sanchez is also said to be in contention — but the third deputy, Steve Houchens, recently announced his retirement.

According to Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian, council members have been told that as a cost-cutting move, Houchens will not be replaced.

Further, if Fretwell gets the nod, the city’s long-time finance director, Mark Vincent, has put his name in to replace her, Tarkanian said. Moving Vincent up the bureaucratic ladder could add an important measure of stability because he has been a key player in the city’s efforts to trim expenditures and otherwise shore up its budget over the next decade.

Tarkanian and others suggested it is imperative that the council move quickly, given the financial fix the city is in. That would mean skipping a nationwide search, a time-consuming and potentially costly endeavor the city, under normal circumstances, would consider.

“I believe the feeling is that we need someone who’s been through the process, who understands what the city is going through,” Tarkanian said.

Another City Hall official, who asked not to be named, concurred.

“They can’t wait,” the official said. “It would be a mess.”

It appears those concerns have been addressed. The council is set to discuss, and possibly appoint, a new city manager during its next meeting, on Dec. 3, according to the meeting agenda, released late Tuesday. If an appointment takes place, it will be effective Jan. 15, the day before Selby is slated to step down.

City spokesman David Riggleman said all options for replacing Selby are still on the table, including a nationwide search. That could entail hiring a consulting firm to conduct the search for someone to fill the $215,000-per-year post.

Goodman has said he has several candidates in mind for the job, though he did not name them.

Selby, who was unavailable for comment, has been credited with effectively managing the city during a period of unparalleled growth. Under his leadership, “we kept pace with the growth,” Riggleman said.

Riggleman added that Selby, 55, who took the post in 2002 after serving three years as a deputy city manager, instituted groundbreaking city programs in the areas of environmental sustainability, diversity training and governmental efficiency.

Fretwell, under Selby’s guidance, instituted an efficiency effort called Performance Plus, which monitors city programs to make sure they’re being run effectively and adhere to the council’s priorities.

Fretwell, 41, who vied with Selby for the top city management post in 2002, has an extensive resume. Before being named assistant Las Vegas city manager in 2000, Fretwell served as intergovernmental relations director for Henderson. Before that, she worked for Clark County in several capacities, including as a planning official and as a lobbyist at the Legislature.

“It would be a great honor to be considered a candidate for the position of city manager,” Fretwell said in a written statement Tuesday. “I defer to the judgment of the mayor and City Council on how best to fill the position and I am confident they will proceed with the best interests of the city of Las Vegas in this regard.”

After Virginia Valentine announced in 2002 she was stepping down as city manager, three candidates in addition to Selby and Fretwell addressed the council. They included Boulder City’s then-City Manager John Sullard, local businessman Jose Charles, and E. Louis Overstreet, executive director of the Urban Chamber of Commerce.

In Las Vegas — a city with a “council-manager” form of government, as opposed to the “strong mayor” form in which the mayor runs the city’s operations — the city manager has outsized management responsibilities. One of them is being able to speak frankly to the mayor and the other members of the council and word with them so that he or she can best implement the council’s agenda.

“We need someone with good people skills,” said Tarkanian. “Someone who can handle the different personalities here.”