Mulroy to receive first-ever reviews on water work

In roughly 20 years of managing the valley's water supply, Pat Mulroy has never received a formal job evaluation from her elected bosses.

That is about to change.

At the prompting of Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak, the boards of both the Las Vegas Valley Water District and Southern Nevada Water Authority are developing new procedures for evaluating their general manager.

Mulroy is expected to receive her first-ever formal reviews early next year.

"It's long overdue," Sisolak said. "We clearly dropped the ball on this."

Mulroy has served as general manager of the state's largest water utility since 1989. She became general manager of the authority in 1992, shortly after the regional water supplier was formed.

Though she has never received a formal evaluation in that time, Mulroy said she has always known exactly where she stood with her governing boards. "It's never been unclear."

She added that she has always treated the strategic plans for the district and the authority as the goals and objectives of her job.

Ultimately, though, she said she is "looking forward" to the prospect of getting regular feedback on her work.

The County Commission oversees the water district. The water authority is run by a board that includes representatives from its member utilities, namely three county commissioners and one city council member each from Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas and Boulder City.

Sisolak said the commission is slated to vote next month on the formation of a three-member committee to develop a procedure so Mulroy's work on behalf of the water district can be evaluated sometime early next year.

On Thursday, the water authority board voted to work with Mulroy on an evaluation process in the coming weeks.

The plan is to bring the process back for board approval in January so it can be administered in February, when the board is also slated to hold its annual vote to renew its management agreement with Mulroy and the water district.

That's another reason Mulroy has never felt she needed a formal review by the authority board. "They rehire me every single year," she said.

Sisolak said his call for evaluations had nothing to do with Mulroy's performance. It was prompted by some recent trouble the city of Henderson encountered when it failed to conduct reviews of its top administrators.

Former City Manager Mary Kay Peck cited the lack of formal reviews in a lawsuit she brought against Henderson after she was fired in 2009.

The city wound up paying her $1.3 million after an arbitrator ruled that her contract had been breached.

Henderson has retooled and resumed its annual evaluation process.

"I think this should be viewed as a positive thing. Pat's entitled to an evaluation," Sisolak said. "This isn't a gotcha kind of thing."

Las Vegas City Councilman and authority board member Bob Coffin said Mulroy has had "a sterling career," so he sees the development of a review process as a "long-term thing" aimed at future general managers.

"There's Before Mulroy and After Mulroy," Coffin said. "I think this is for After Mulroy."

Boulder City Councilman Duncan McCoy noted that reviewing someone in Mulroy's position is not like reviewing your average administrator. "What you're talking about is the effectiveness of the entire organization," he said.

McCoy added that evaluations by elected boards can be awkward and incomplete, especially when they are conducted during public meetings.

"Things are going to get left unsaid," he said.

Mulroy is paid $279,154 a year plus benefits to serve as general manager of both the district and authority.

Her contract with the water district includes an automatic 4 percent raise annually, but she voluntarily stopped taking that money in 2008.

After Thursday's meeting, Mulroy said she hasn't taken any of this evaluation talk personally.

"Was I surprised? Yes, because it was never an issue before," she said. "Did I feel threatened by it? Not necessarily."

Mulroy certainly has the full support of County Commissioner and water authority board member Tom Collins.

"In my opinion Pat's paid a fraction of what she's worth," he said. "I hope she's here for another 100 years."

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.