Sparks’ City Manager was fired today. City Council member Paul Anderson listed a litany of reasons for his termination.
They included the mishandling of how Krutz fired former Sparks Fire Chief Mark Lawson, including posting a video on YouTube about the firing, which Anderson said exposed the city to costly litigation. Treating employees poorly was another reason cited by Anderson.
“Mr. Krutz has created an uncomfortable working environment through intimidation and a culture of fear,” he said. “His performance has not improved as previously represented and expected.”
The termination was long-simmering. The Lawson firing occurred in December, and since then, Krutz narrowly avoided termination in May when his contract was up for renewal.
Krutz’s attorneys fired back against Anderson, disputing the city’s handling of Krutz’s termination.
“Mr. Anderson’s announcement just now was the very first time we’ve heard of what the basis of an asserted cause assertion for termination of Mr. Krutz,” attorney John Gallagher said. “We’ve never received it. It amounts to blindsiding him and violating his due process and his contractual rights. He has rights under the contract where you’re obligated to give him notice, which you didn’t do.”
Gallagher said Krutz was ordered to deal with Lawson.
“The facts will come out, whether it’s in the Lawson litigation or some time in the future,” he said. “If you want to tell the public the truth, tell the public the truth. There’s not one tangible thing that you’ve mentioned that would give rise to a [for]-cause termination.”
He added that Krutz solicited feedback from council members and the mayor in May about his performance, and they had an obligation to provide Krutz with feedback.
“Some of you engaged; others refused,” Gallagher said, adding that his May performance review indicated there was no cause to fire him. “Two of you refused to engage. And during that time, one of you refused to address it but then publicly went to the press and made misstatements regarding the Lawson litigation as the basis for criticizing Neil.”
Krutz, who was in the council chambers, did not speak and let Gallagher do the talking.
Gallagher called Anderson’s reasons for termination “vague,” and any alleged deficiencies were never communicated to Krutz. He added that the council has formed a “lynch mob mentality” rather than discussing issues with Krutz.
“Sparks voters are intelligent people; whether they hear it now or hear in the future, they’re gonna know what the truth is,” Gallagher added, hinting that “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in litigation is coming.
He also revealed that Krutz was negotiating with the Sparks City Attorney’s office in July to end his contract.
“What you didn’t do is negotiate in good faith,” he said. “You’ve got a contract with him. You’re obligated to uphold that contract. You violated it with this proceeding today.”
Council members fire back
Anderson said he agreed with some of what Gallagher said.
“I did give him a good review in May,” he said. “And that’s what made this that much more difficult to make this decision that we need to go a different direction.”
Council member Charlene Bybee said she took offense at what Gallagher said.
“I really took offense at a lot of it,” she said. “I don’t appreciate my character and the character of my colleagues being attacked today. I think we have a reputation of doing a really good job here in Sparks and doing what we hope is best and what’s right for our residents in our city and especially for our employees.”
Council members Donald Abbott and Dian VanderWell said they agreed with everything Anderson said.
The council unanimously approved Krutz’s firing. It also approved up to $5,500 for a Las Vegas attorney to deal with the conflict.
