CARSON CITY, Nev.—Nevada
officials have begun awarding contracts for "green jobs" training
projects that will be funded by federal money—and one consulting
contract for $48,000 or possibly more has been awarded to a Clark
County commissioner.
The contract was awarded by the Department of
Employment, Training and Rehabilitation to Lawrence Weekly. According
to internal documents at the Legislature, the purpose of the contract
was listed as "green jobs training coordinator—southern Nevada," with
the contract starting last month.
Weekly said that although he
has seen other elected officials accept state contracts, he held off on
accepting the offer because he feared a conflict of interest.
"I
didn't sign and start it until May," Weekly said. "I thought that might
be a concern if I'm an elected official and working for the state."
Weekly
said he asked the Clark County district attorney's office for an
opinion and was told that based on his role, there was not a conflict.
"I
didn't have a part-time job before because I was always concerned about
it," Weekly said. "I made sure I did as much due diligence as possible,
and I was told there was no conflict of interest."
(Read the entire article.)
Tags: training, green jobs, economy, stimulus
Categories: The Economy