Las Vegas to pay former city exec $97K to settle ageism claims
The city of Las Vegas agreed Wednesday to pay $97,500 to a former city executive to settle claims he had been ridiculed and forced out in 2017 because of his age and a disability.
Phil Stoeckinger, an ex-deputy director of Economic and Urban Development, filed a federal lawsuit against the city in October 2018, a year after his departure from City Hall.
Stoeckinger, who was 53 years old at the time he was let go, accused officials of pushing him to retire, which he refused to do, and giving him a below-average 1 percent raise although he said he never received warnings about a poor job performance.
Then-deputy City Manager Scott Adams allegedly said during a management staff meeting that a younger executive, in his mid40s, had been hired to “dual fill” Stoeckinger’s role, according to the lawsuit, “to capitalize on institutional knowledge held by ‘old farts’ as part of the ‘silver tsunami’ — gray-haired people leaving the workplace.”
Stoeckinger said the reference was directed toward him.
The city denied the allegations of discrimination in a court filing responding to the lawsuit. The city declined to comment on the settlement, which was unanimously approved by the City Council.
Parks volunteerism initiative
The city and Get Outdoors Nevada, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, announced a new joint partnership Wednesday to boost resident participation in park beautification projects throughout the city: Volunteers In Parks (VIP).
Get Outdoors Nevada will coordinate a minimum of two volunteer park events per year in each of the city’s six wards. It will also develop a database of volunteers to share across the districts.
Efforts will include cleanups, graffiti removal, mural touch-ups and more.
City, union strike deal
The City Council on Wednesday approved a collective bargaining agreement for last fiscal year between the city and the union representing city marshals, agreeing to a 3.56 percent one-time lump sum for about 114 workers.
The deal with the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, which will cost taxpayers nearly $287,000, forgoes the typical cost-of-living adjustment, which would affect pensions and, because it would compound over time, be more expensive in the long run.
Las Vegas Deputy City Attorney Jack Eslinger was appointed to be Municipal Court Administrator on Wednesday, meaning he will oversee the daily operations of the city’s court.
Eslinger, who has worked for Las Vegas since 2000, will replace former administrator Dana Hlavac, who is “currently looking at another opportunity (within) the city,” according to a city spokesman.