Embattled Sparks City Manager Neil Krutz is “unavailable,” according to city officials who declined to say more about his absence at Monday’s city council meeting.
John Martini was referred to as “acting city manager” during the roll call at yesterday’s city council meeting. No explanation was given as to why.
Council members and Mayor Ed Lawson dodged questions about Krutz for days after This Is Reno was tipped off last week that Krutz “may be on his way out.” This Is Reno confirmed Krutz is not on leave.
“This is a delicate situation,” one source said without elaborating.
Krutz narrowly escaped being fired in May by the council after Lawson, in a split vote, sided with Krutz.
“Mr. Krutz has an exemplary record, never been written up for anything, has no blemishes on his record, and everybody has a bad year,” he said.
Krutz’s termination was put on the council’s agenda at the request of Council member Dian VanderWell following a poor performance review. VanderWell said she had concerns about Krutz’s leadership. An independent investigation into Krutz was approved, at VanderWell’s request, at the council’s June meeting.
“I’ve encouraged people to go to HR, and I’ve encouraged them to go to the mayor also, but the unfortunate part is we have employees here that do not feel comfortable doing that,” VanderWell said as to why she requested an outside investigation.
Employees have expressed concerns about Krutz.
“I worked with Neil in his various positions within the department and got to witness firsthand his autocratic and ineffective leadership style and the morale issues it caused amongst the staff,” one wrote. “I unfortunately saw how Neil drove away many talented city staff and division leaders and took retaliatory actions against staff who disagreed with his positions.”
Krutz is also facing an ethics complaint that alleges he got special treatment from former Sparks Fire Chief Jim Reid. The city denied the allegations at the time they were filed.
As part of a lawsuit filed by former Sparks Fire Chief Mark Lawson, Krutz is also being accused of defaming Lawson in a YouTube video. In the video, Krutz said Lawson had resigned and announced criminal charges were pending.
