Commission investigated Reno City Council members based on This Is Reno reporting

Reno City Council member Miguel Martinez signed in October a deferral agreement to avoid being found in violation of state ethics laws by the Nevada State Ethics Commission. Under the agreement, the commission will not investigate his travel spending if he takes steps to remedy overspending on two trips he made as a council member.

Martinez must comply with commission requirements to avoid additional ethics violations. He is required to undergo ethics training, provide travel documents to the commission, and he must show evidence that he is working with city leadership to improve travel training and processes to “prevent others from inappropriately expending public funds.”

Ethics Commission staff investigated Martinez based on This Is Reno editor Kristen Hackbarth’s extensive investigation into Reno City Hall and council member spending.

“On April 30, 2024, the commission initiated Ethics Complaint No. 24-056C on its own … based on allegations made in a series of articles appearing in ThisIsReno.com, city documents published with the articles, publicly available conference information, and Martinez’s social media accounts,” states Martinez’s deferral agreement with the commission.

This Is Reno’s reporting showed Martinez billed the city for personal travel expenses, including extra hotel nights and a $915.57-per-night hotel room. “The travel for Martinez reimbursed by City funds arguably was beyond those reasonable travel costs,” the commission noted.

After the series was published, Martinez, who did not respond to questions from This Is Reno for the articles, repaid nearly $2,000 to the city. Martinez is an employee of Truckee Meadows Community College, an institution with travel policies similar to the City of Reno’s.

Former City Manager Doug Thornley signed travel requests and expense claims that included extra spending and several errors.

“City staff leadership, who are subordinates of the City Council, admitted to lack of attention to detail or vigorous review of travel costs.”

Reno Council Member Devon Reese, who denied any misspending, is also in hot water with the ethics commission for infractions similar to Martinez’s. The Ethics Commission in September found “credible evidence” he violated two ethics laws.

Two citizens, after reading This Is Reno’s reporting, filed complaints against Reese. He was already under a deferral agreement for a prior ethics complaint. His violations are expected to be reviewed by the ethics commission in early 2025.

City still has outdated travel policies

City officials refused to answer dozens of questions from This Is Reno in February. In Martinez’s deferral agreement, however, unnamed city officials admitted mistakes. “City staff leadership, who are subordinates of the City Council, admitted to lack of attention to detail or vigorous review of travel costs associated with City Council members,” the report states. “In addition, the City does not train City Council members on travel procedures or policies.”

The city was audited in 2018, and the auditor found similar infractions. “Training and travel paid for with City funds are required to have proper approval prior to the expenditure with appropriate supporting documents maintained,” the audit noted, stressing that the rules apply to all city staff and elected officials. “City funds may be misappropriated if established policies are not completed in full for expenditures.”

Other audit violations included excessive airfare charges, lack of documentation to support travel purposes for official city business, pre-travel approvals getting approved after travel was completed, inappropriate per-diem reimbursements and city funds being spent on non-city-related activities. City officials at the time said the issues were fixed. 

On Thursday, Mayor Hillary Schieve said she instructed former City Manager Doug Thornley to fix the policy. Thornley resigned in April.

“I held off because, as you know, Doug left,” she said. “It has been a high priority for me to address with our new city manager replacement. I can assure you that this will be reviewed and that the policy will be followed to ensure both council and staff are clear on travel policies and to avoid misinterpretation. Once a new city manager is in place, you will see an updated policy.”

The City Council on Dec. 4 paused consideration of all applicants found by a headhunting firm for the city manager position and instead offered the job to interim City Manager Jackie Bryant. Bryant, who did not apply for the position, initially said she did not want it.

Hackbarth’s series on city hall spending received the state’s top investigative journalism award in September from the Nevada Press Association.

Miguel Martinez’s deferral agreement appendix