Vetting was thorough on city manager choice, council says

Maricopa council members did their homework.

That’s the message city leaders wanted to make clear to the public Tuesday evening prior to a unanimous vote approving a three-year employment agreement with Maricopa’s next city manager, Gregory Rose.

Council members said they received negative emails from residents concerning Rose, whose 2009 resignation as city manager in North Las Vegas was called “a firing” by one news agency.  During his employment, questions were raised about how the Nevada city used taxpayer money meant for the hiring of new police officers.

“I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed in what I consider at this point to be taking a position without all your information – without all your facts,” councilwoman Peggy Chapados said to the public prior to a vote. “The seven of us are sitting here because we represent your voices. We’re not going to take anything under consideration – especially something this important – without doing our homework. We did our research. The media – anybody with a computer – can Google these things with these candidates and find things if they’re looking for things.”  

The council’s decision on Rose came after a nationwide search conducted by a consulting firm. The two other finalists for the position were Sandi Wilson, deputy county manager for Maricopa County, and Trisha Sorensen, Maricopa’s current interim city manager.

Following Tuesday’s council meeting, Mayor Christian Price said one thing that made Rose stand out among the other candidates was his experience managing a growing city. 

Council members questioned Rose about his past as well as spoke with multiple people who previously worked with the Texas native, Price said.  This included former Maricopa City Manager Brenda Fischer, who also worked for North Las Vegas.

Price said when council members felt they were leaning toward Rose, he and Vice Mayor Edward Farrell took a trip to North Las Vegas to speak with people who knew him – both those who liked and disliked the former city manager.

Past media reports alleged that Rose ordered city police officers on payroll receive compensation with money from voter-approved funds intended to be used for hiring new cops.

 At the time, Rose told the Las Vegas Review-Journal the issue stemmed from “a simple coding error.”

Price said Rose explained during the interview process that members of a new council in the city of North Las Vegas were not favorable of him. This prompted his resignation.

People who knew Rose, which Maricopa council members met with in the vetting process, backed up the explanation, he said.

“The police union confirmed it,” Price said. “They said, ‘look, this was not his fault. This was absolutely not his fault. Call it coding error. Call it whatever you want. It was somebody trying to pin something on him.’”

Price then added: “When you interview someone, talk to someone, you look them in the eye, you get a feeling for who they are. And I think that there was very much that feeling of, ‘he’s telling us the truth.’”

Price said “only time will tell,” but he thinks Rose is “an individual who has very high ethical standards.”