Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Las Vegas city manager leaving for job with Switch

Oscar Goodman Plaza

Sam Morris/Las Vegas News Bureau

Las Vegas City Manager Betsy Fretwell talks about working with former Mayor Oscar Goodman during the dedication of Oscar B. Goodman Plaza in front of Las Vegas City Hall Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016.

Updated Tuesday, March 21, 2017 | 4:32 p.m.

Las Vegas City Manager Betsy Fretwell announced today she is leaving this summer for a job as a senior vice president over a new division at Switch.

Fretwell, who is eligible for retirement, will leave her city job in July and join Switch as senior vice president of Switch SMART, the data company’s new smart city division.

She will “drive the strategic development, implementation and national expansion of Switch’s vision to integrate all aspects of smart city development utilizing its world-renowned shared infrastructure platform,” the company said in a news release.

Fretwell has worked for the city since 2000 and been city manager since 2009. She has been credited with successfully navigating Las Vegas through the recession.

She oversees about 3,000 employees and a $1.2 billion budget.

In August, the Las Vegas City Council unanimously voted to raise her base salary to $266,500 and awarded her a $39,000 bonus. She also received two salary increases in 2015. Those were framed as market-rate adjustments that brought the position in line with comparable positions in similar cities.

Fretwell is the highest-paid government manager in Southern Nevada. Clark County Manager Yolanda King’s base salary is $260,000.

During discussions of Fretwell’s most recent raise, Councilman Stavros Anthony jokingly said, “I’d wrestle you in the parking lot if you tried to leave.”

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