By Kathryn Reed

Apparently whatever rattled the South Lake Tahoe City Council members to the point they stripped City Manager Nancy Kerry of all her duties isn’t that egregious based on the decision to keep her on the payroll.

The council in closed session on Tuesday again were discussing Kerry. The closed session items for Feb. 20 and Feb. 12 were listed as: public employee discipline/dismissal/release.

No reason has been given as to why the taxpayers are paying to keep Kerry at home.

Mayor Wendy David during council comments on Tuesday said she recognizes the council is being scrutinized for what appears to be a lack of transparency, but added that they are “absolutely prohibited from speaking about personnel issues. It ensures confidentiality.”

David said the goal is to be cautious, deliberate and decisive. She gave no indication of when a resolution to the conflict would be forthcoming.

Interim City Attorney Nira Doherty said she will be going on vacation starting Thursday. It is not known if someone else from her law firm of Burke, Williams & Sorensen will be handling the city manager legal work during her absence or if it will be tabled until her return. The city’s contract is with the actual firm, with Doherty being the appointed attorney to handle South Lake Tahoe because of her prior full-time employment with the city.

Doherty did request that at the March 20 meeting that the contract with her firm be discussed in open session.

It’s possible the council will be looking for a new city manager and new city attorney this year. And with it being an election year, (the seats of David, Austin Sass and Tom Davis are up) the future of those two top level positions in the city become political fodder.

The city manager and city attorney are the only two positions the council has a say over.

For now, Fire Chief Jeff Meston is the acting city manager.