State ethics commissioners on Wednesday rejected a proposed agreement to resolve a complaint against a now-fired Clark County public works official accused of using his government position to help secure lucrative contracts for his wife.
The Nevada Commission on Ethics had investigated whether Jimmy Floyd, the former head of construction management for Clark County, violated provisions of state ethics law in connection with the award of a $10 million county contract to a team that included his wife’s firm.
Instead of signing off on the agreement, commissioners approved a motion to move “to the next stage for additional investigation.” The livestreamed hearing took place in Reno.
“I did not feel that I had all of the sufficient facts to make a determination on this proposed agreement,” Commissioner Brianna Smith said after making the motion. “I’m not saying, down the road, after there’s further investigation, it’s not viable.”
Under the proposed agreement, Floyd stipulated that his conduct constituted a single willful violation of a state ethics statute that prohibits a government official from securing unwarranted advantages for an individual to whom he has a private commitment – in this case, his wife, commission executive director Ross Armstrong told commissioners prior to the vote. Floyd also agreed to pay a $17,500 fine, which would have been the third-largest civil penalty ever issued by the commission.
Commissioners rejected the agreement after briefly discussing interpretation of the two-year statute of limitations and the calculation used to determine the amount of the fine.
“It’s obviously disappointing when a proposed resolution is not approved,” Armstrong told the Las Vegas Review-Journal after the meeting. “It is unclear which direction the commission would like this case to take.”
He said he would await the commission’s direction and continue to work with Floyd’s counsel.
Floyd and his attorney, Brian Hardy, could not be reached for comment.
‘Threatened the public’s faith in government’
Commission counsel Elizabeth Bassett stated in an email to the Review-Journal that next steps would include setting a status conference with the parties to determine how to proceed. The process could include witness depositions, written discovery and subpoenas, which could lead to an adjudicatory hearing. The parties also could reach a new agreement to be brought before the commission.
Prior to the vote, Armstrong told the commission that the county already had removed Floyd from office, which he described as the “most severe consequence of an ethics violation.”
“This case is serious,” the executive director continued. “Much of the conduct that may be concerning is outside of our two-year statute of limitations, but there was clearly a pattern of conduct throughout the process. … The conduct has threatened the public’s faith in government, but Mr. Floyd today is stepping up and taking accountability for his actions in a much larger way than many of our other subjects do.”
The county fired Floyd in August 2025 following its investigations into claims of impropriety, including his role in the award of a $10 million construction management contract to a team that included Rock Solid Project Solutions, a firm owned by his wife, Raquel Floyd.
In December 2024, the county awarded the contract to Diversified Consulting Services to manage construction of the 215 Beltway & Summerlin Parkway Interchange Project. Diversified listed Rock Solid as a subconsultant standing to make at least $1.5 million on the contract.
Jimmy Floyd managed the bidding process, preparing the request for qualifications for companies seeking the contract and serving as one of five evaluators of the bidding firms, according to the county.
Attorney says Jimmy Floyd ‘was trying to comply’
In presenting the proposed agreement, Armstrong said Jimmy’s Floyd’s boss, public works director Denis Cederburg, knew of his connection to Rock Solid, which Floyd never tried to conceal. Armstrong also said Jimmy Floyd removed his own scoring of bidders from the final scoring matrix.
Public records obtained by the Review-Journal by filing a lawsuit against Clark County indicate that Jimmy Floyd gave his highest score to the Diversified/Rock Solid team. Without his score, the Diversified team still had the overall highest ranking, though three of five evaluators picked a different team.
Hardy told commissioners that his client also had released all legal rights related to his wife’s company.
“So he was trying to comply with what he’d been asked to do by the county, but apparently — and he now knows — that that wasn’t sufficient, which is why he’s agreed to the particular terms of this agreement,” the attorney said.
The proposed agreement also took into account new concerns about whether Jimmy Floyd might have violated an ethics statute requiring a one-year cooling-off period after leaving government employment by going to work for Rock Solid, Armstrong said.
As recently as July, the firm’s website listed Jimmy Floyd as the firm’s vice president of engineering and construction management. The listing no longer appears.
Contact investigative reporter Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or at 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on X.
