BY JUDITH MILLER | Incline Village
Incline Village General Improvement District’s Board of Trustees voted on Jan. 29 to enter into negotiations with Mr. Steve Pinkerton, current city manager for the City of Davis. Mr. Pinkerton was originally notified he had not been selected by the board for the interview process. Because the decision was made outside of a public meeting and an open meeting law complaint was filed by Aaron “Watchdog” Katz, IVGID invited Mr. Pinkerton back into the mix. After an initial round of interviews of six candidates, two were selected to continue — Mr. Pinkerton and Mr. Eric Severance.
Mr. Severance’s application did not clearly indicate he held a bachelor’s degree, a requirement for the position. A phone call to the registrar of the college he listed confirmed he only attended for two years and did not graduate.
The board learned of his failure to meet the basic requirements for the position only days before the final interviews and at their Jan. 29 meeting, trustees voted to offer the job to Mr. Pinkerton. Had a member of the public not insisted the selection process take place at a public meeting, there would have been no qualified candidate left and IVGID would have had to start the whole hiring process over again.
At the end of the day, the board selected the most qualified candidate, but only because of the actions of a few interested citizens. Hopefully, the negotiations with Mr. Pinkerton will be successful. With his years of experience in public service, he can do much to improve IVGID’s credibility in the community by insisting on transparency and encouraging public comment, not stifling it. Maybe, just maybe, the watchdog can retire.
~ Judith Miller (aka Mrs. Aaron Katz), Incline Village
