Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

County commissioner resigns temporary position

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Lawrence Weekly

Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly has resigned his temporary state position coordinating green job training programs in Southern Nevada, after press reports about the $60,000 contract, said Larry Mosley, director of the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

The state had awarded Manpower Inc. the $60,000 contract earlier this month, and at Mosley's recommendation, the company hired Weekly to coordinate the job training.

Mosley said he had given Weekly's name to the employment agency because "he's a trusted face in the community."

"If we're going to knock on doors and let people know what programs are available, the community needs to trust that person," Mosley said. Asked if he was referring to the black community, Mosley said he meant the Southern Nevada community as a whole. He later said, though, that there was a need for outreach in the largely black West Las Vegas community.

Weekly's portion of the contract was for $48,000, with the rest going to Manpower. Weekly was paid once, on May 14, for $1,866.24, Mosley said.

Assemblywoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, questioned why the state went through a temporary employment agency, if Mosley knew who he wanted to hire.

"If we're paying a 25 percent head fee, it seems like that money could be better used elsewhere," she said.

Mosley said the contract was originally funded by the federal stimulus, but that was an error. It should have been funded with money from the federal Workforce Investment Act.

He said state department directors have been working on how to coordinate federal money meant to promote "green jobs" including weatherization programs and training for renewable energy programs.

Mosley said Weekly's contract had nothing to do with Senate Bill 152, which is Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford's bill dealing with green jobs.

That bill, which had been held up in the Assembly, passed out of a committee on Wednesday.

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