Holding worst public employees accountable

Two words not often heard within the halls of government: You’re fired.

Nonperformance isn’t enough to get a public employee fired. It generally takes a combination of incompetence and conduct that violates written policy. Even then, lengthy appeals processes often put problem workers back on the payroll — with back pay.

Unfortunately, there’s been no shortage of policy violations and bad judgment within Southern Nevada governments in recent months. Entire years have passed without this newspaper reporting a single government worker termination. Tuesday’s edition had three such reports.

Two of the nine state employees involved in improper patient discharges from the Rawson-Neal Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas were fired Monday. (Four employees no longer work at the hospital, and three others were disciplined, according to the state.) They had a hand in the improper transport of mentally ill patients to other states, most notably James F. Brown, who was released and put on a bus to Sacramento, Calif., this year despite having no ties to the city. California cities and the federal government are investigating the extent of patient dumping — Nevada’s inquiry uncovered 10 potential cases over five years — and the state has imposed stricter discharge and transport policies for patients who wish to leave Nevada.

Also Monday, the Henderson Police Department fired SWAT officer Justin Simo. In February, the officer drove a $50,000 police SUV for several miles after a tire blew out, causing the vehicle to catch fire. The blaze destroyed the SUV and about $10,000 worth of equipment.

Meanwhile, Las Vegas police have recommended the termination of officer Jacquar Roston because he shot a man in November after mistaking the shine from a label on his hat for a gun. The department’s Use of Force Board recommended firing officer Roston, and Sheriff Doug Gillespie signed off on that advice earlier this week. After a pre-termination hearing, where Mr. Roston can appeal for lesser punishment, Mr. Gillespie will make the final call.

The firings of the police officers likely will end up before an arbitrator, and arbitrators tend to side with government employees over their employers.

Outside pressure often is required to compel governments to do the right thing. Media scrutiny in the Rawson-Neal and Henderson incidents kept the public informed. And an award-winning Review-Journal series on police use of force led to reforms in the way authorities examine officer shootings. The Las Vegas police Use of Force Board used to be nothing more than a rubber stamp with no credibility.

The public has a vital interest in knowing their government workforce will be held accountable for gross negligence — especially when it puts others in harm’s way. No one wants to see anyone lose their job, especially in this economy. But getting the worst workers off public payrolls would go a long way toward building public confidence in the efficiency and integrity of their governments. It shouldn’t be so difficult and costly to fire them.