Duties of the Office of Public Administrator in Clark County.
Requested by the Chair of Assembly Government Affairs
Regarding AB164 in the 76th (2011) Session.
Authority
NRS CHAPTER 253 - PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS AND GUARDIANS
establishes the authorities and duties of the office of Public Administrator in all counties
in Nevada.
When the Public Administrator is appointed by the Probate Court to administer an estate
and complete the process of probate the provisions of TITLE 12—WILLS AND
ESTATES OF DECEASED PERSONS become the controlling statute listing duties
and responsibilities as for all executors, personal representatives, and administrators.
County Code makes little mention of the Public Administrator except to list that position
with all other offices filled by the electorate.
Office
Board of county Commissioners Electorate
County assessor Electorate
County clerk Electorate
District attorney Electorate
County recorder Electorate
Sheriff Electorate
County treasurer Electorate
Justice court judges Electorate
Constable Electorate
Public administrator Electorate
Brief History
For decades prior to 2002 it was the practice of the county Commissions in Clark and
Washoe to name the elected Public Administrator as the Public Guardian. In 2002 when
the long-time Clark County Public Administrator (CCPA) retired the County Manager
exercised the option to remove the function of Public Guardian from the elected CCPA
and give that duty to an appointed Manager. This option was implemented in Washoe
about that same time. As of 2011 the PG’s offices continue operating under appointed
managers in Clark and Washoe.
Cost to the counties in 2009 salaries and benefits as reported at the Transparent Nevada
website:
Elected CCPA salary plus benefits $130,428
Appointed CCPG “ $178,319
In Washoe those 2009 salaries plus benefits are:
Elected WCPA $150,095
Appointed WCPG $124,440
CCPA Operations 2007 Forward
The fees earned and paid to the Clark County General fund from the CCPA FY2007
totaled $314,000. Those earning grew each FY to $550,000 in FY2010. With staff and
program cuts in 2010 and proposed budget cuts in 2011 it seems unlikely that the fees
generated will be sustained or improved.
Operations in 2011
Two basic functions are designed into the current operations of the CCPA Office. 1)
Field services by Investigators who respond to calls from the Coroner or Law
Enforcement for assistance in securing decedent residences and personal property, and 2)
Estate Coordinator services that handle the property and cases secured and submitted
by the Field Investigators, release that property to families, and as sworn PA deputies
perform the administration of estates as ordered by the Probate Court.
THE CCPA and CCPG share some staff functions. The CCPA manages the vault for
both departments and the CCPG manages the Warehouse for both. The CCPG
accounting positions provide accounts receivable and accounts payable services for the
CCPA, and the CCPG staffs the front desk, reception, phone system, dispatching CCPA
Investigators during office hours, and CCPG provides some services in CCPA imaging.
17 Part Time staffs provide CCPA field Investigator services. Six FTE’s plus the elected
CCPA provide case management oversight, coordination, and administration of estates.
The Appearance of Duplication in Services
Glancing at CCPA field operations some observers have concluded that the CCPA
Investigators perform some work that could be performed by Coroner Deputies. This is
true, but that limited analysis is incomplete.
The Coroner in Clark County has authority to collect personal property on or about the
decedent, to seal the residence, to order repairs on the residence to secure windows and
doors in order to protect real and personal property, and the authority to release personal
property and the residence to the custody of the next of kin (NOK).
Currently CCPA Investigators respond 24/7 to calls for assistance from the Coroner and
Law Enforcement. The Coroner responds to an average of 9 calls per day and calls the
CCPA for assistance an average of three times per day. If the Coroner does not call the
CCPA does not respond, does not investigate, does not secure property. The CCPA may
do that work at a later date if requested by referral, by family, or if assigned by the court.
When the Coroner calls the CCPA for assistance the result for the Coroner is that the
Coroner Deputy is cleared from the scene when the decedent is released to the mortuary
and the on-scene fact finding regarding the cause of death is completed. The Coroner
Deputy finishes quicker by turning over the responsibility for decedent property to the
CCPA Investigator.
The CCPA Investigator then searches for and secures personal property of value found
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throughout the residence including cash, jewelry, stock certificates, bonds, credit/debit
cards, firearms and documents or account statements that may lead to assets. The CCPA
Investigator also searches for information on the decedent NOK, birth and death
certificates, divorce documents, Wills or Trust documents, address books,
correspondence with family, and any information that may assist in the location of NOK.
Information regarding the family and NOK found by the CCPA is shared promptly with
the Coroner who has the responsibility by code to notify the NOK of the death.
Because CCPA statutes are interpreted to allow the residence and personal property to be
released to the custody any family member for the protection of the estate, and because
the Coroner statues are interpreted to limit release only to the NOK or a designee, the
CCPA may be called in to authorize a release of property to a family member when the
NOK cannot be immediately contacted.
The benefit of CCPA 24/7 calls for the estate is that information and assets are secured
sooner and the CCPA can proceed in handling the estate when no family is eligible, able,
or willing to act as administrator. About half of around 1000 annual CCPA Investigator
call-outs are concluded following the release of property to family within 30 days of the
call, a few are released later than 30 days, and the balanced are processed as Affidavits
(under $20K), Set Asides (up to $100K), Summary (up to $200K), and General
Administration ($200K and up) probates.
Since the current CCPA 24/7 Coroner response provides benefits to the estates and to the
Coroner’s office it is reasonable to believe this operation in Clark County began based on
mutual agreement.
Should the budget cuts now under consideration in Clark County be enacted it is likely
that the CCPA’s 24/7 on-call response service will be severely limited. While this
change would eliminate any appearance of a duplication of actions by the CCPA and
Coroner at decedent scenes, a more tangible effect will be a significant impact on the
time and actions of the Coroner deputies and Law Enforcement in the gathering and
inventory of property at those decedent scenes and the subsequent reception of families at
their offices to release property.
CCPA Administration of Estates
When appointed by the Court to administer estates the CCPA delivers services through
four sworn Deputies as FTE Estate Coordinators and one FTE Chief Deputy who carries
a full caseload in addition to duties overseeing the daily operations. A snapshot of CCPA
workload in March 2011 found 103 open probate cases represented by 52 different
attorneys with 84 initial call cases remaining open.
The elected CCPA is in the office daily and subject to call 24/7. Duties outside the office
include closing decedent bank accounts, collection and inventory of property from
decedent safe deposit boxes, oversight of real estate, signing IRS filing, attending and
participating at Probate Court every Friday, and speaking engagements to assist citizens
in understanding the work of the CCPA and providing suggestions on how they may
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avoid any need for the CCPA in their future.
Summary
It is suggested by this report that far from being an overlap or duplication of duties in the
field, the work of the CCPA compliments the fieldwork of our Coroner deputies. The
CCPA’s response permits the Coroner deputies to attend the decedent and to conclude
calls quickly and so to be available in response to new calls. Current processes prevent
the need for the Coroner Deputies to pay time and attention to the collection, inventory,
and security of property as would be necessary if the CCPA Investigators did not
respond.
The work of the Coroner’s resident deputies currently acting for the CCPA in the
north/south Clark County areas of Laughlin, Mesquite, Moapa, and Overton demonstrates
the willingness of both offices to cooperate in advancing community and customer
service and to produce cost savings through a department level MOU. However this
combined delivery of service example in the remote areas cannot be directly transferred
to the work of the CCPA and Coroner in the LV Valley communities. The volume of
calls in the LV valley and the differences in travel for staff and families create significant
differences in the service model.
Please call or email if more information or details are required.
John J Cahill, Clark County Public Administrator
702 455-0455
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