Activist wants probe of raises

CARSON CITY -- Conservative political activist Chuck Muth on Monday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the state Agency for Nuclear Projects following revelations last week that the head of the office gave himself and other staffers unauthorized pay increases of up to 16 percent.

"As a citizen of the state of Nevada I am deeply concerned about recent allegations of financial mismanagement and potential malfeasance by Robert Loux, executive director for the Nuclear Waste Project Office (NWPO) for the State of Nevada," the Carson City blogger stated in the letter.

"Clearly there is, and has been for quite some time, an absence of accountability for the NWPO and the federal oversight funds it manages and co-mingles with anti-Yucca Mountain state funds," he stated.

Muth last week filed a complaint in Carson City district court seeking the removal of Loux for malfeasance over the raise controversy. The first court hearing in the matter is set for Wednesday.

In another development, two lawmakers have requested a bill to place the agency under the control of Gov. Jim Gibbons rather than the Nevada Commission on Nuclear Projects, a panel of part-time appointees.

The bill was requested by Sens. Barbara Cegavske and Bob Beers, both Republicans from Las Vegas, after the disclosure of the pay increases at the Legislature's Interim Finance Committee.

"It was very frustrating not to have the ability just to let someone go under the circumstances," Cegavske said. "My premise is the office should be under the control of the governor. Then it never would have happened."

Gibbons has asked Loux to resign but he has declined to do so.

Loux said he wants to discuss the issue first with the nuclear commission, whose next meeting is Sept. 23.

Loux said Monday he has not changed his mind about stepping down. And he confirmed it is the commission that has oversight over his performance.

"The commission is my boss," he said. "They have the authority to hire and fire."

Cegavske said that if the commission has oversight, then it should have done a better job keeping track of spending in Loux's office.

If the Legislature is successful in placing the agency under the direct authority of the governor, then there might not be any need for the commission either, she said.

The fight against placing a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, can continue without the panel. Cegavske said she opposes the repository project.

During the Interim Finance Committee meeting, Loux sought permission to transfer money from his current budget to cover the $500,000 he overspent beyond authorized levels in last year's budget.

His request included $72,000 to cover additional retirement and other benefit expenses for himself and his staff that he did not calculate when he changed payroll records to increase their salaries beyond legal limits.

Before Loux's salary manipulation was discovered by the state budget office in August, he was drawing a $151,542-a-year salary, nearly 33 percent more than his authorized $114,088. Nevada governors, in comparison, by law receive annual salaries of $141,000.

Loux admitted that last year he gave his entire staff, including himself, salaries 16 percent higher than authorized.

He explained his actions by saying their workload had "increased by 15 percent to 20 percent" because they were taking on the duties of an employee who got sick and retired.

In addition to the other actions aimed at Loux, Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert, R-Reno, has filed an ethics complaint against Loux. The complaint alleges that Loux improperly used his position to "grant unwarranted privileges" to himself in violation of state ethics laws.

Muth said he is neutral on Yucca Mountain but wants an open debate on the issue, a debate he said the projects office has tried to stifle.

Muth, president of Citizen Outreach, said he has accepted $5,000 from the Nuclear Energy Institute for gifts that will be provided to attendees at a Conservative Leadership Conference that begins Thursday in Las Vegas.

The institute, a sponsor of the conference, describes itself on its Web site as a promoter of the beneficial use of nuclear energy.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.