The City of Reno is holding a special meeting next week to request up to $100,000 in additional funding to investigate claims of alleged misconduct against City Manager Andrew Clinger.
The city has already exhausted the $50,000 for outside legal counsel that it approved on Aug. 4, 2016.
At that special meeting, the mayor and councilmembers were scheduled to approve up to $100,000 for the outside investigation, but they said that $100,000 was too much. They voted for the $50,000 amount instead, which went to the firm Kamer Zucker Abbott.
But it apparently was not enough, as the city announced today a special meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016. That meeting will consider another $50,000 for Kamer Zucker Abbott and up to $50,000 to hire David Wall to investigate alleged misconduct by Clinger.
“Special counsel has exhausted the initial budget of $50,000 and needs an additional appropriation to continue working on the case,” the city said in a statement.
Mayor Hillary Schieve said the allegations would be conducted with what she called “bold transparency,” but some have criticized how the city has handled the situation so far, criticisms that include abruptly canceling special public meetings.
Clinger has denied any wrongdoing and called allegations against him ridiculous. He went on voluntary leave earlier this month while the matter is being investigated.
Clinger faces four complaints by three different women. The women’s attorney said an initial investigation was botched and mishandled by the City Attorney’s office. City Attorney Karl Hall denied those charges.
The money requested to continue and expand the investigation will come from the City Attorney’s outside counsel fund and the city’s risk management fund.
UPDATE: City Councilwoman Jenny Brekhus said that the amounts requested reflect the complexity of the issues being investigated.
The city has not released the results of the first investigation or how much it cost.
UPDATE: The Reno Gazette-Journal also reported today that the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office is also now investigating a document theft as part of the case.