Clark County audit finds eight high-risk issues in the public administrator's office, from case backlogs to lax security

What the audit found

A new audit of the Clark County Public Administrator's Office identified eight "high-risk" issues or cases of mismanagement, The Nevada Independent reported. The findings include nearly 1,900 open cases, $623,000 in collected fees that were never turned over to the county, no plan for disposing of cremated remains, and weak controls over who can reach property taken from the homes of people who have died.

The audit covers 2024 to 2026. According to The Nevada Independent, it describes long processing delays, unpaid fees, high staff turnover and security lapses that went unnoticed.

A long case backlog

Over the two-year audit period, the office closed 1,808 cases, taking an average of 532 days each. Auditors found 59 percent of all cases had been open for more than two years, with 315 open longer than five years and 34 open longer than 10. The audit recommended a two-year timeline for administrator cases.

Auditors noted that older cases cost more time and money, and that it becomes harder to reach heirs, attorneys, creditors and banks as time passes. Stored belongings also pile up and can lose value, according to the audit.

Vehicles, belongings and uncashed checks

The office holds more than 147 vehicles, some for three years or longer, in a lot that is almost full. It also holds more than 4,500 personal property items, including firearms and jewelry. Auditors counted 289 checks in the office's possession, four worth more than $10,000 each and one worth more than $42,000, and several had sat for years without being deposited or passed to next of kin.

Cremated remains with nowhere to go

The office has 105 human cremains and six pet cremains, more than half of them at least 3 years old and six older than a decade. The county crypt where they are kept is full, so additional remains cannot be properly disposed of and cases stay open, the audit found.

Security and missing money

Several people without proper authorization, including someone who was not county staff, accessed areas where belongings of the deceased are stored. Auditors also found vault technicians can change inventory records without supervisor approval, warning they could "easily steal items without detection." Follow-up home visits were often late, and in one case a car went missing.

The office stopped forwarding fee revenue to Clark County in February 2024. In the audit, the county said the fees are needed for the budget but did not explain why the transfers stopped.

How the office works

When someone in Clark County dies without a will or anyone to handle their belongings, the public administrator takes charge of the estate, including pets, property and vehicles. The head of the office is elected to a four-year term and oversees a budget of about $2.5 million a year and a staff of 29 part-time and full-time employees.

Current Public Administrator Rita Page Reid declined to comment to The Nevada Independent and is not seeking re-election. The outlet also noted the office's troubled history: it reported that former Public Administrator Robert Telles murdered Las Vegas Review-Journal journalist Jeff German in 2022 after German investigated his conduct.

What the candidates say

Republican Mike Murphy, a former county coroner who served as interim administrator during and after Telles' final months, faces Democrat Stephanie Itkin-Goodman, a deputy attorney general. Murphy told The Nevada Independent many of the problems trace to Telles' leadership and said he lacked full authority to fix them as interim. He called the audit "a roadmap for the next public administrator" and suggested body cameras to address unauthorized access.

Itkin-Goodman called the security gaps a "failure" and said the office needs independent leadership. She said she would start with "immediate safeguards and a corrective action plan, with clear deadlines." Voters can follow the race through our elections coverage and recent Clark County turnout figures.

What to watch next

• The audit is set to be finalized at a Clark County audit committee meeting Wednesday, according to The Nevada Independent.
• Auditors said they had asked the office for an action plan but had not received one as of Oct. 22.
• Murphy and Itkin-Goodman are competing to replace Reid, who is not running for re-election.