The ouster of City Manager Gregory Rose seems to have been a full-out rebellion against the so far short lived reign of mayor Shari Buck.
It was striking that the mayor was unable to cajole even one of her companions on the City Council to vote for Rose. It's been well known for a while that there was no love lost between Mr. Rose and council members William Robinson and Robert Eliason, both of whom voted against the lucrative enhancements to Mr. Rose's contract. (Sun) Richard Cherchio dissatisfaction with Mr. Rose was evident more recently apparently due to the wrangling over the "More Cops" fund. (KLAS)
Nonetheless, the mayor was not even able to convince Anita Wood or Mr. Cherchio to support Gregory Rose. This despite their votes to support his annual performance review in August, 2009. (Sun)
The shift raises the question of just how much political power will the mayor be able to wield. Will the rest of the council form it's own powerbase and leave the mayor to repeat her petulant phrase from just prior to the Rose vote: "do what you're going to do"?
So, this ain't mayor Mike Montandon's city council anymore. And it may not even be Shari Buck's.
On another note: The more I think about it, the idea that Mr. Rose should simply be let go so that the city can get the sorry affair "behind us" serves the interests of everyone involved--except those of voters. Voters will eventually face the difficult question, and responsibility, of deciding who will be the best mayor or councilperson for their ward, and it is extremely relevant to that question if a candidate aided and abetted Mr. Rose in some potentially illegal bookkeeping. Voters, therefore, need to resolve the very question council wishes to avoid: Did Mr. Rose engage in any illegal activities or not? And if he did, did anyone on council know about it?
Forgetting the affair may be good for council, but it's not so good for the rest of us.
Holy crap! Elections are heading Nor'Town's way again! Guess I should start posting stuff I get from campaigns, like:
(North Las Vegas, NV) – Lucy Flores, Democratic candidate for Assembly District 28, will kick-off her campaign at a community celebration on Saturday, December 5, at Lincoln Elementary School. The District 28 seat is currently held by Assemblyman Mo Denis, who is not seeking re-election to the Assembly.
Flores, who grew up in the district, is currently finishing her final year at Boyd School of Law and currently works at UNLV.
Because of her strong belief that a good education is the key to every child’s success in life, Flores is holding her kick-off at the elementary school she attended.
“I made the decision to run for the Assembly because I understand the challenges that people in this district face every day—wanting good schools for their children, access to affordable health care, and safe neighborhoods,” Flores said. “I look forward to kicking off this campaign with family, friends and neighbors in the heart of the district.”
WHAT: Lucy Flores to announce candidacy for State Assembly in District 28
WHEN: Saturday, December 5th from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Lincoln Elementary School, 3010 Berg Street in North Las Vegas
Denis, by the way, is probably running for State Senate. (Sun)
Also by the way, campaign folk, please let me know about your candidate and I'll post your press release here.
City Council voted to remove City Manager Gregory Rose "without cause" and handed him his severance package worth over $337,000 today. (RJ) Council voted 4-1 for the removal. Mayor Shari Buck, as threatened earlier, voted against, because she felt that there were not "any good reasons" for removing the manager.
But, we'll never know if there were good reasons or not, since the dismissal "without cause" means the city officially has no "reasons" for the dismissal. So, was "More Cops" the reason? Officially, no. The "without cause" removal also means that Rose will not be able to take action against the city over any disputed claims. However, as Mayor Pro Temp William Robinson noted, it does not prevent the city from taking legal action against Rose, should the city deem it proper.
Council however spent the majority of the session discussing, and recriminating each other, staff, and past council members over the budget. City finance director Phil Stoeckinger gave council the bad news that revenues are falling gravely short of city income by $47 million in 2010. Council voted in favor of draconian measures to cut the budget by over $5.5 million immediately. The reductions very likely will mean layoffs for the city. Council and staff will be holding meetings and "retreats" over the next month to decide who and what get the ax.
More later, probably...
AH. Nothing says "Christmas" better than a pink slip!
Yes, after a lovely tree lighting ceremony and cookies, City Council bellies up to the bar today, most likely to fire the current city manager Gregory Rose, hand him his $337,000 in parting gifts (thanks for playing, Mr. Rose!), and pick a temp to fill his shoes until it's time to play "Name That Scapegoat" all over again. (Agenda)
Now, it's all fun and games to give Mr. Rose the boot assuming he in fact did mis-appropriate that "More Cops" money. (RJ) Still, it is hard to believe that the folks who are ultimately responsible for the functioning of the city and its budget, i.e., the current mayor and her immediate predecessor, didn't know anything about it.
And if they didn't? Then it looks like they failed in their oversight jobs.
Either way, the removal of Mr. Rose should not end the matter. Every Nor'Townie should still be asking: what did the mayor know, and when did she know it? And if she didn't know it, why didn't she?
As for her predecessor? Well, "More Cops" will give his opponents in the gubernatorial race something to talk about it, won't it? How about "Boy Scout Botches Budgets"?
Say, isn't it odd that the "Budget Presentation" is "award winning"? (NLV) Yep. It's a Very Nice Budget. As long as you don't read it.
Sigh. Everybody's making fun of us. From Jon Ralston's column about what prominent Nevadans have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving:
And in the "numbers" sidebar of the Review-Journal:
Okay. Everybody raise your hand if you think it's time to let Las Vegas annex Nor'Town.
Whoa! Where else do you get $337,000 for messing up? Besides Goldman Sachs, I mean.
$337,000 is how much it's going to cost Nor'Town to get rid of its current City Manager Gregory Rose. (RJ) City Council will be voting on the "settlement" at the December 2nd meeting, barring postponement.
Mayor Buck is opposed because that's quite a chunk of change in hard times. However, voting against the settlement means that Rose would remain city manager, despite the current ruckus over the "More Cops" money. Rose is alleged to have used "More Cops" money to fund veteran officers when the money was slated for new hires only.
Mayor Buck, naturally, supported the manager's generous severance package back when council handed it to him. (Nor'Town) So, hey, if she doesn't want the city to take the hit, maybe she should donate the money?
Or, how about this? The mayor could take responsibility as Nor'Town's highest official for the "More Cops" mess up and resign. Her predecessor Mike Montandon could, too, by apologizing to the city, abandoning all current and future campaigns for public office, and pay Rose's severance out of his gubernatorial campaign fund.
But, wait, what am I saying? Taxpayers always end up paying for politicians' mistakes. That's been a basic rule of politics since back in the days of Babylon.
Yes, really. According to KTNV, an automobile belonging to Nevada State Senator and Nor'Townie Steven Horsford, and sporting his official State Senator license plate, was seen parked in a handicapped spot without the required plate or tag over at Aviary Park.
State Senator 17 [Hosrford's number] left his SUV parked not only in the handicapped loading zone, but completely blocking the only ramp that allows wheelchairs to get onto the curb and into the park. (KTNV)
So, is the Senator suffering from some undisclosed dysfunction these days, besides impatience and poor judgment? Or does doing a study of Nevada's handicapped tax structure count as a handicap, too?
So, executive-leaving Nor'Town City Manager characterized the use of "More Cops" funds to support cops already on the force.
"The issue is a simple coding error. It's just paperwork," City Manager Gregory Rose said earlier this month. (RJ)
However, the "More Cops" funds, we are told, are meant only to support new hires in an effort to increase the force. They should not be used as a bookkeeping tool to shuffle funds from one account to another in tough economic times.
The, dare we say, scandal is beginning to make everyone look bad. We learn: Nor'Town Chief of police Joseph Forti knew about the shift of funds, although he has denied it elsewhere. And the assistant chief says they knew about it in early 2009.
So, one wonders, when did Mayor Shari Buck, who's supposed to be in charge of the such goings on, know about it? Or are we to believe she doesn't know what's going on in her City Hall?
We also learn that Assemblyperson Marilyn Kirkpatrick "has long questioned why North Las Vegas hasn't hired more police officers with More Cops money."
Really? When did she plan to share those concerns with her constituents?
One thing is clear, though, Richard Cherchio has found an issue for his campaign coming up in early 2011. So, I'm guessing "More Cops" won't be going away anytime soon. I wonder if the mayor will be endorsing his campaign?
Yes, really. The assembly guy for district 13 calls our leaders "pigs." Last I checked Assembly folk were leaders, no? Or would he want to deny that he's a leader? (ProgressNV) Self-esteem issues, maybe?
Oh, and he seems to have the president confused with the Joker from Batman.
Funny, he's only 58% conservative, too. (VT&S)
This just in from the Protectors of Tule Springs:
The cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas voted last night on the resolution to protect the Upper Las Vegas Wash as a National Park Unit. And the County Commission passed the same resolution on Tuesday. An agreement and single voice to our Congressional Delegation has been made! I am told these 3 entities don't often agree on anything. Not only did they all pass it unanimously, but they gave us huge kudos for bringing everyone together.
I want to thank Sandy Croteau of POTS, Lynn Davis of the Nat. Parks Conserv. Assc. , and Helen Mortenson for running with all of the details since I am so tied up teaching and going to UNLV. Also, to Lisa Mayo-Deriso and Rob Mrowka for the talking points and public relations.
Now, many have asked what they can do now. If you have not called the congressional delegation, please do so TODAY!! I know Health Care is the #1 issue right now, but they need to hear from us!!!
Sen. Reid 388-5020
Sen. Ensign 388-6605
Cong. Berkley 220-9823
Cong. Titus 387-4941
Thanks to all. This is only the next step. There will be a lot that needs to still happen to make this National Park unit a reality!
Jill DeStefano
POTS
Channel 8 is reporting that Nor'Town City Manager Gregory Rose is on paid leave and may be leaving the city permanently. (VegasNow) TeeVee folk think it's because of the missing "More Cops" money, but Rose has apparently denied it.
More about missing "More Cops" money:
[UPDATE: Let the baseless speculation begin! Lots of questions about the repercussions of this. The shifting of existing police to the "More Cops' money--a violation of the goals of the program--started at least a year ago. The Mayor at the time was Mike Montandon.
Nonetheless, whether we're talking Montandon or Mayor Buck, the question is: what did the mayors know about this and when did they know it?
If Buck knew about this, should she tender her resignation?
If she didn't know about it, then why not? Isn't it her job to monitor the City Manager?
What happens to Montandon's run for Governor, since this was happening on his watch? Surely opponents will want to connect him with the "More Cops" money.
It's been clear for a long time that Councilguys Robert Eliason and William Robinson would happily have voted Rose out of the City Manager's position. The mayor was solidly behind him while, it seemed to me anyways, that Richard Cherchio and Anita Wood supported Rose mainly because they were newbies who didn't want to make a severe change so early in their new positions. Judging from Cherchio's remarks here, however, I suspect there are now at least three votes against Rose, which, of course, is a majority.]
If you are just getting to the point in your therapy sessions where you don't have night sweats about that hideous mayoral campaign we recently endured, David McKee reminds of how that was, at least partly, a feud twixt the Boyd family and the Fertittas. (Stiffs and Georges)
He also reminds us of the days when old Mayor Mike was not quite so pro-free markets:
Back when Montandon was mayor and taking a go-slow attitude toward casino expansion in NLV, Station Casinos claimed to be totally down with Hizzoner’s approach.
These days, of course, the current administration would probably never say no to a casino. That is, if one ever wanted to open here again.
Ouch: Aliante Station loses $3.7 million this quarter. (RJ) Probably a good time to install some new slots, like say "Foreclosure Fun!": The jackpot would pay off your in-arrears mortgage.
The Clark County Commission voted to support a resolution in favor of making the northern Vegas Wash into a Urban National Park. (RJ)
Next up, city of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas:
November 18th Las Vegas City Council 9am- Corner of Stewart and Las Vegas Blvd. near Fremont street. Bring change for parking meters. I-95 get off on Las Vegas Blvd. Turn right. Past Stewart and into parking structure on your right.
November 18th North Las Vegas City Council 6pm-2200 Civic Center Drive 633-1007 (easiest way is to take I-15 to Cheyenne. Turn Left, across I-15 and then turn right at first signal which is Civic Center Drive. Go about 2 miles. Building on left)
Just a follow up on a post from last week: Clark County, the City of Las Vegas, and North Las Vegas are voting on resolutions to make the upper Las Vegas Wash into an Urban National Park. Here are the meeting times again:
November 17th Clark County Commission 10am 500 S. Grand Central Parkway 455-0000 (Take I-15 south, Get off on Charleston, turn left. Go under I-15 and then turn left on Grand Central Parkway. About 1/2 mile on right you will see the County Commission offices across the street from the Outlet Mall)
November 18th Las Vegas City Council 9am- Corner of Stewart and Las Vegas Blvd. near Fremont street. Bring change for parking meters. I-95 get off on Las Vegas Blvd. Turn right. Past Stewart and into parking structure on your right.
November 18th North Las Vegas City Council 6pm-2200 Civic Center Drive 633-1007 (easiest way is to take I-15 to Cheyenne. Turn Left, across I-15 and then turn right at first signal which is Civic Center Drive. Go about 2 miles. Building on left)
This just in from the Protectors of Tule Springs:
On November 17th and 18th, an unprecedented event will take place. The Clark County Commission, the City of Las Vegas, and the City of North Las Vegas will all be placing a RESOLUTION on their agendas which will read in part: This is a resolution supporting the designation of an area known as the Upper Las Vegas Wash as an Urban National Park Unit Managed by the National Park Service. It will urge our Congressional Delegation and the US Department of the Interior to make a land designation appropriate for the protection of the resources, in a timely manner to avoid further degradation of the area, with appropriate funding to fully develop the scientific, educational and recreational potential.
WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO ATTEND ONE OR ALL OF THE MEETINGS TO SHOW OUR SUPPORT!!!!
To get these 3 entities to agree on anything is an incredible victory for what we all have worked so hard on the last 3 years!
November 17th Clark County Commission 10am 500 S. Grand Central Parkway 455-0000 (Take I-15 south, Get off on Charleston, turn left. Go under I-15 and then turn left on Grand Central Parkway. About 1/2 mile on right you will see the County Commission offices across the street from the Outlet Mall)
November 18th Las Vegas City Council 9am- Corner of Stewart and Las Vegas Blvd. near Fremont street. Bring change for parking meters. I-95 get off on Las Vegas Blvd. Turn right. Past Stewart and into parking structure on your right.
November 18th North Las Vegas City Council 6pm-2200 cCvic Center Drive 633-1007 (easiest way is to take I-15 to Cheyenne. Turn Left, across I-15 and then turn right at first signal which is Civic Center Drive. Go about 2 miles. Building on left)
HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE!!!
Jill DeStefano
Protectors of Tule Springs
No, not because of the usual stench circa Craig and Losse--man, that ain't the pigfarm, is it?
Nope. I mean: you'd better hold your nose because the BSS Nor'Town is agoin' down!
We learn today that Councilperson Anita Wood has told City Manager Gregory Rose to have his staff-folk start up some "critical needs" assessments.(VN)
I suggest it might just be quicker to pull out a pink highlighter and slap a spot on the foreheads of the underlings who can expect pink slips in the next year or so.
Councilguy Cherchio mentioned that maybe those assessments are coming a year too late. You know, back when the council was voting to sink millions into that new City Council Building.
Maybe they should dedicate the new building to all the staffers they'll be letting off. Put up a lovely plaque with all the names on it or something. Next to a big pigeon statue, maybe. Something with real, Nor'Town class.
Meanwhile, the Mayor continues her quixotic quest to lure California firms to our fair city. Say, how many have signed up, I wonder? (Sun)
Personally, I'm finding those ads by Swarzenegger pretty tempting. You know, the ones where the gube of California says: "California, find yourself here."
Wonder what Nor'Town's slogan should be?
Oh well, look at it this way. Our ghost town will make a wonderful exhibit in that new national monument. Another extinct creature, right next to the Mastodon bones.
Woah. Follow Nor'Town on Twitter. Sounds like a pigeon cooing.
Here's the agenda for the next meeting of the NLV Alliance of HOAs etc:
AGENDA
DATE: THURSDAY NOVEMBER 5, 2009
PLACE: ALIANTE LIBRARY--- 2400 DEER SPRINGS WAY.
TEL. 839-2980 (For directions if needed) or call Cynthia at 438-5005.
TIME: 6:00 P.M. (Main meeting room)
NOTE: As always we welcome any suggestions of topics to discuss or requested speakers to attend at future meetings.
SCHEDULED GUESTS
COUNCILWOMAN ANITA WOOD, WARD 3, AND COUNCILMAN RICHARD CHERCHIO, WARD 4 WILL BE PRESENT FOR THE FIRST PART OF THE MEETING TO UPDATE CONSTITUENTS ON CITY ITEMS AND TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
ALLIANCE MEMBER HARVEY FERBER WILL GIVE A REPORT ON THE RECENT CITY COUNCIL RETREAT HELD AT ALIANTE LIBRARY THAT HE ATTENDED FOR BOTH DAYS, AS WELL AS THE PRESENTATION MADE ON THE UPCOMING INDIVIDUAL COUNCIL WARD SPECIFIC E-NEWSLETTERS.
KATHI THOMAS GIBSON OF OUR NLV HOUSING AND NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES WILL ATTEND AND UPDATE US ON WHAT IS CURRENTLY HAPPENING IN OUR LOCAL AREAS CONCERNING FORECLOSURES, STIMULUS FUNDS, ONGOING PROJECTS.
WE HAVE ALSO INVITED TWO REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE NEWLY FORMED NORTH VALLEY ASSOCIATION OFF LAKE MEAD TO SHARE THEIR STORIES AND SEE HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER AS CONCERNED CITIZENS FOR ALL PARTS OF NLV.
AS ALWAYS WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR ATTENDING AND ASK THAT YOU SHARE THIS AGENDA WITH YOUR COMMUNITIES AND BRING FELLOW BOARD MEMBERS AND NEIGHBORS.
Ooof. Easy on the uppercase, guys.
So here's Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins, expressing his excitement with the thought Clark County won't be caring for abandoned desert tortoises anymore and his hatred of all small animals getting in the way of unrestricted development:
In mid-August, the Sun wrote about the National Parks Conservation Association joining the push to designate about 35,000 fossil-filled acres in the northern portion of the Las Vegas Valley as a national monument. [...]
A lot has been going on behind the scenes. Commissioner Tom Collins is close to finishing the wording on a county resolution urging federal authorities to preserve the area because it has the potential to be an educational and economic dynamo.
Additionally, North Las Vegas Mayor Shari Buck, whose city is “highly in favor” of the designation, said she met two weeks ago with staff of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., regarding the Tule Springs area. She said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., has also expressed “great interest.” This week, she plans to meet with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and Las Vegas Councilman Steve Ross to “hear what their concerns might be ... because I’m assuming there’s going to be a partnership and we want to be supporting each other.” (Sun)
Hmm. A little call from the feds and all the sudden everybody's in favor of the park, and talk of a fat new highway north of the 215 seems to have vanished.
Looks like the desert tortoise needs better connections inside the Obama administration.
WHAT: Meeting of the North Valley Democrats
WHERE: Aliante Library, 2400 W Deer Springs Way, North Las Vegas, NV
WHEN: Thursday, October 15, 2009, 6:30pm