Deputy County Manager Jeff Wells goes to a conference of the Clark County Commission at the County Government Center on Sept. 20, 2022, in Las Vegas. Deputy County Manager Jeff Wells leaves a Clark County Commission conference at the County Government Center on Sept. 20, 2022, in Las Vegas.
Deputy Clark County Manager Jeff Wells, who was consistently implicated of doubtful management and conduct, retired with more than $250,000 in payments, which included about $80,000 he got while on administrative leave for 3 months.

Wells was placed on paid administrative leave on Jan. 23 after he intervened in his child's disciplinary hearing. He had previously informed the county he planned to retire in April. The leave expense taxpayers more than $61,000 in income and $21,000 in advantages, county records show.

County Commissioner Tick Segerblom said the county had to pay Wells to avoid a potential suit, though he said, in basic, the county's policy of cashing out accumulated advantages ought to be reevaluated.

" He was going to get it anyhow," Segerblom stated of Wells' payment. "Everyone has policies that you can second-guess, and possibly we should. It needs to be looked at."

Furthermore, the county invested $8,515 for an outdoors law practice to examine Wells' discussions with a county lawyer about the disciplinary investigation of his son, Tom Wells.

When Jeff Wells oversaw the department, Tom Wells was employed by the county public defender's office. The examination into undefined work environment misconduct in 2015 including Tom Wells cost taxpayers an extra $27,932, according to a law firm's heavily redacted billing statements that the Las Vegas Review-Journal acquired under open records laws.

The examination of Jeff Wells may cost a lot more since the billing statements state the attorney submitted a draft investigation report Feb. 10, however the last billing declaration on March 31 did disappoint that there was a last report.

Segerblom said he did not understand the specifics of the outside investigation into Jeff Wells, and Jeff Wells did not respond to an ask for remark for this story.

County spokesperson Jennifer Cooper decreased to provide an interview with County Manager Kevin Schiller - - as she had actually promised to do earlier - - stating the process is continuous, although Jeff and Tom Wells are no longer county staff members.

County declares ‘‘ best practice'

Cooper composed in a declaration that the "non-union and management staff members follow comparable policies" as union staff members when there are accusations of wrongdoing.

" There are procedures which occur when a staff member's conduct is being examined and workers are entitled to due procedure prior to the County can not pay an employee or require a worker to utilize their leave," she composed. "This is a best-practice across markets and employers. An employee's decision to leave work during this process may wrap up the active parts of the examination, but it has no bearing on a worker's right to due procedure."

She did not respond to concerns about why the county spent cash on an investigation when officials understood Jeff Wells was retiring in April.

On top of the paid administrative leave, Jeff Wells cashed out nearly $36,000 in accrued holiday time and about $130,000 in sick leave, records reveal.

Since 2018, the Review-Journal has exposed extreme issues, including corruption, unwanted sexual advances concerns, accreditation issues and waste of taxpayers' resources, in departments Jeff Wells manage.

He managed then-Public Administrator Robert Telles when workers were grumbling about Telles' conduct. Telles is now charged with murder in the stabbing death of Review-Journal press reporter Jeff German, who wrote about the debate.

Jeff Wells' kid, Tom, and daughter-in-law Nicole Wells were worked with by departments Jeff Wells manage, despite a state law that makes it a gross misdemeanor to employ family members. The county clarified the law through a regulation however grandfathered in Tom and Nicole Wells, he wrote.

The attorney investigating Jeff Wells, Wendy Medura Krincek of Littler Mendelson P.C., did not return a call and email seeking comment.

Clark County also broke state open records laws by declining to supply Jeff and Tom Wells' workers records, citing rulings that are no longer legitimate and declaring their personnel policies enable records to be kept, regardless of Nevada Supreme Court judgments to the contrary.

Contact Arthur Kane at akane@reviewjournal.com and follow @ArthurMKane on Twitter. Kane is editor of the Review-Journal's investigative group, focusing on reporting that holds leaders and agencies accountable and exposes misbehavior.