"BREAKING!! - I have retired from the City of North Las Vegas and am going back to the private sector."

That began a Dec. 9 LinkedIn post from Jared Luke, who for the previous six years had served as the city's director of government affairs and economic development. Touting new developments and repair of the city's "political reputation," he ended the post saying, "While I will no longer be involved in the day-to-day of the public sector I will take the lessons learned and experiences with me as I re-enter the private sector."

Yet a little more than a month later, Luke was again working for the city — this time as a consultant. 

His first consulting contract was approved in January, not to exceed $49,500 for six months. Because the initial contract was for less than $50,000, it never appeared on the city council agenda — contracts under that threshold can be approved by the city manager without council approval, according to North Las Vegas spokesperson Greg Bortolin. 

Bortolin said that the city manager, Micaela Moore, approached Luke after he left the city in early December to negotiate a contract. Because the contract is a "professional services agreement," Bortolin also said it was exempt from a competitive bidding process under state law. 

The city's contract with Luke is through a business called Sandhill Consulting Group LLC, which was registered with the state on Dec. 29, 2025 — just weeks before the contract began on Jan. 15. Luke is the registered agent of the LLC and the address is linked to a private home in Las Vegas under his name. 

Luke's status as a consultant for the city was publicly disclosed for the first time during a July city council meeting, where the council approved a six-month contract extension allocating $11,000 per month for professional assistance on several issues, including Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issues. 

It states that Luke would serve "as an authorized representative of the City," and engage in "mentoring and training" city staff, while allowing for two more renewal periods that cannot exceed more than $228,000 over a year and a half. 

"Jared has spent years developing relationships with the BLM and is uniquely qualified to assist with BLM land initiatives within the City's disposal boundary," Bortolin said in an email. "This work is vital to the City's economic growth and continued momentum."   

At the time of his departure from the city, Luke was being paid just over $217,000 a year for his city director position, and he received more than $50,000 in unused annual and holiday pay upon leaving. 

It's not the first time the city has hired back a former employee as a consultant — North Las Vegas came under fire after Ryann Juden, the former city manager, negotiated a $630,000 consulting contract before he left his post in late 2024. 

The Nevada Ethics Commission found that Juden had committed a nonwillful violation, not simply because he had been hired back as a consultant, but because he had negotiated the contract while still employed at the city. 

Governments in Nevada are not legally prohibited from hiring back former employees as consultants, but the law outlines restrictions, and experts say it leaves room for interpretation. Unlike Juden, there is no public evidence that Luke negotiated the terms of his contract before he left office. 

Luke did not respond to multiple requests for comment via phone and social media. 

Legal 'gray area'

Patrick Chapin, an attorney and an assistant professor at UNLV Boyd School of Law, says Nevada law prohibits employees from negotiating their contract before they leave office, a la Juden. 

"There's complexity to it," Chapin said.

Nevada law has a one-year cooling off period for public employees who "represent or counsel for compensation a private person upon any issue which was under consideration by the agency during the public officer's or employee's service." "Issue" is defined as a "case, proceeding, application, contract or determination" but does include legislative measures or regulations.

State ethics law also prohibits government employees from seeking "other employment or contracts for the public officer or employee or any person to whom the public officer or employee has a commitment in a private capacity through the use of the public officer's or employee's official position." It was this section of state ethics law that Juden, the former city manager, had violated.

Bortolin said while employed with the city, Luke had "worked closely with BLM" to free up federal land for the city, helped bring large companies to the area, and said Luke had worked on Rep. Steven Horsford's (D-NV) Apex Area Technical Correction Act, which allows the city to streamline development. 

There have been no formal ethics complaints filed against Luke for the contract, according to the Nevada Ethics Commission. 

The atmosphere during Luke's contract approval during a city council meeting earlier this month was convivial. City staff and council members spoke highly of Luke's current and prior work and said "unlocking federal land" was a priority for the city. Councilmember Isaac Barron said Luke was in part responsible for bringing the city the Nevada State University's North Las Vegas campus, which was finalized in early December 2025. 

"Let's put him on the spot and see if he'd like to say anything," North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown said about Luke during the meeting. 

"I just wanted to say thank you," Luke said, going on to praise the new director of government affairs and economic development director. He also said he looked forward to working with the city to achieve additional growth and development. More than anything, he said he was excited to keep working on BLM issues, "to try to free up some of this dirt and turn some of this dirt into real estate."