Supervisors ask for AG opinion on judicial opening

The Carson City Board of Supervisors will wait for a response from the Attorney General's Office before deciding whether to hold a special election to replace retiring Justice of the Peace Robey Willis or appoint someone to fill the position.

Willis gave notice that the position of Justice of the Peace Department 1 would be vacant Jan. 4, 2011. His term officially ends December 2012.

City Manager Larry Werner said that when a vacancy occurs for an unexpired term, supervisors have the choice of appointing a replacement or having the vacancy filled through a special election.

But Werner also said the District Attorney's Office had found case law that indicated a resignation letter can be rescinded at any time up until the resignation date, even if already accepted. As a result, District Attorney Neil Rombardo has requested an attorney general's opinion.

Willis told the board he had no intention of rescinding his resignation.

"If you doubt that, after (my) 26 years of public service, then you don't have any faith in me," he said.

He also said he felt strongly that a special election would be more appropriate.

"I think the people should have a right to vote for this position rather than have you appoint someone," Willis said. "I think if you took a poll, people would want to vote, and anybody trying to fog this up is doing you a disservice."

Rombardo told supervisors he wanted to be clear that there was no opinion from his office.

"We just want to make sure that what you do is legal," Rombardo said. "If I've frustrated Justice Willis, I apologize. I just want to make sure we're on solid ground."

In other business Thursday, the board:

• Reviewed the character and professional competence of Werner for the period of Feb. 7, 2008, through Thursday.

Werner stepped into the city manager position from his post as city engineer when the vacancy occurred, and he has been working without a contract since then.

Supervisors praised the turnaround Werner had brought about among city staff and advised him to work harder on community outreach. Supervisor Pete Livermore also asked that Werner provide the board with a checklist of current goals.

The board voted to have a contract for Werner brought back to them in a month.

• Approved a grant of $56,325 to hire a full-time case manager to oversee third-time DUI offenders participating in the Western Regional DUI Felony Court, as well as second-time DUI offenders. It also accepted a $329,032 grant for the DUI specialty court.

• Selected Todd Westergard as a nominee for an appointment from the Governor's Office to serve on the board of the Carson-Truckee Water Conservancy District.

• Selected Drew Simmons to fill a vacancy on the Library Board of Trustees.

In their capacity as the Liquor and Entertainment Board, supervisors:

• Fined Arthur Skipworth of Eagle Valley Market on Woodside Drive $500 for a second offense within six months of selling alcohol to a minor.

• Fined Pizza Hut at 2441 N. Carson St. $500 for a second offense within six months of selling alcohol to a minor, and ordered the liquor license holder, district manager or resident agent to appear before the board at its next meeting.