As a former employee of the City of Henderson, it is with disappointment that I read this article and learn of the city's difficult fiscal times. I feel very bad for my valued former collegues who may be at risk of losing their jobs. From 1994-2002, I served as an HR recruiter for what was considered the finest and best managed city in the State of Nevada. I honestly think that the fiscal difficulties were initiated by a very faulty compensation study that was contracted out back in 2002. I say this because the salary study provided large increases only to those employees who were in favorable standing by upper management. Expert HR professionals know that you classify and compensate jobs in the public sector, not personalities, but unfortunately this was not the case in Henderson. If any one takes the time to compare turnover rates from 1993 to 2000, and 2000 - 2007, believe me, you will see a large increase in turnover in the more recent years. When turnover occurs, expert knowledge is lost, therefore placing undue pressure of new employees to learn their profession and organizational culture. City of Henderson problems started in October 2000 when one of its finest and talented managers with many accomplishments and expert knowledge suddently "disappeared" or was placed on "special assignment." Translation: truly good leaders and executives value the opinion and views of their employees, but it seems that in 2000, this characteristic was lacking, and may still be lacking today. I am thankful that I work for a public sector employer in the southern California area that is considered an employer of choice, with active hiring, high morale, good managers who care about their employers, a strong HR Department, and fiscally sound. Thanks for reading, hope everyone has a nice holiday season, and by the way, Janice Weise is still the best HR Director I ever worked for.