Political office may soon be possible for all city employees

By Ralph Pokorny

Nevada Daily Mail

Nevada city employees may soon be able to run for any non-partisan elected office, other than the Nevada City Council

Tuesday night, the council voted 4-0 to pass on first reading a general ordinance amending Section 25-6.103 of the city code to remove the prohibition on city employees running for any elective office of a body that meets within three miles of the Nevada city limits.

The council also voted 4-0 to direct the city manager to arrange for a meeting between the city council and the Vernon County Ambulance District board to work out the problems between the two departments which led to this proposed change.

This change in the city code has been brought up by councilman Bill Gillette, who retired from the Nevada Fire Department in 2005, each year since he was elected to the council in 2006.

"I think this ordinance is discriminatory in the way it is written because it restricts a certain class of city employee from running for public office that must live within five miles of the city hall," Bill Gillette said.

Firefighters are the only regular city employees who are required to live within five miles of the fire station. The city manager and the city clerk are required to live within the city limits, but most other city employees have no restrictions on their residence.

Bill McCaffree, city attorney, said that it is up the council to decide about any restrictions on city employees running for elective offices, however most towns have some kind of restrictions. The purpose of these restrictions is to keep city employees from being put in a position where their duty as an elected official conflicts with their job requirements.

"The problem is that government entities have to deal with each other. For example, tonight you asked the city manager to negotiate with the county about extending the lease for the community center property," McCaffree said.

He told the council that he disagreed with Gillette about the ordinance being discriminatory because not everyone has the right to work for the city.

"We all give up something to be city employees," McCaffree said, adding that there are certain legal cases that he cannot accept because he is city attorney.

He said that in the past the city has always had this restriction on city employees.

McCaffree said that he understands there is a problem with whether the ambulance or the Fire Department is dispatched first for emergency medical calls, but said, the best way to resolve this problem is for the city council and the Vernon County Ambulance District board to meet and work out the problems.

Nevada Mayor Mike Hutchens said that a lot of people are aware of the difficulty between the Fire Department and the Vernon County Ambulance District and that he wants to be sure they do not do something that makes things worse.

"I would rather the council sit down with the Vernon County Ambulance District and work out the problem," Hutchens said.

"We want the citizens of Nevada to get help as soon as possible, whether it's the Fire Department or the Vernon County Ambulance District," Councilman Tim Wells said.

In other business the council:

Voted 4-0 to accept the recommendation from the park board to not give or sell part of Marmaduke Park to Community Support Services, Joplin, for five, six-bedroom group homes for developmentally disabled adults.

Voted 4-0 to authorize the city manager and city staff to negotiate a 50-year extension on the lease for the property where the City-County Community Center is located. The current lease expires in 2023 and the city does not want to spend $3 million to renovate and expand the current community center with such a short time remaining on the lease.

Voted 4-0 to accepted the bid of $14,827.38 from Newman Signs Inc., Jamestown, N.D., for 25 directional and informational signs for the Nevada-Vernon County Chamber of Commerce.

Voted 4-0 to accepted the low bid of $8,185, but not to exceed $9,000, from Brantag of Springfield for 12 dry tons of caustic soda for the water treatment plant.

Voted 4-0 to reject all the submitted bids for city employee health insurance and to continue with the insurance from MARCIT.

Voted 4-0 to remove the parking from a 65 foot stretch of Cherry Street in front of Ernsbarger Heating and Air Conditioning to allow easier entrance and exit from the business and to lower the speed limit on the roads in all Nevada City Parks to 15 mph, including Ridge Road in Walton Park.

Struck a resolution setting rural fire fees from the agenda and will reconsider the issue as an ordinance during the June 3 city council meeting.

Passed on first and second readings an emergency ordinance designating check signers for the city's general operations account, payroll-flex account, money market account, flex benefits account, community development block grant account and payroll clearing account.