Council initially favorable to lobbyist rehire


Henderson City Council member Mike Rainey broached the subject of the Ferguson Group at last night’s Henderson City Council meeting.

Rainey said that he “respect[ed]” the decision of the previous council to dismiss the Ferguson Group three years ago, but that he would like the staff to revisit the relationship.

The council member said he would like for city staff to look at feasibility, if they will “still have us”, and to compare the cost of the lobbyists applying for grants rather than the city applying for grants directly.

Rainey said that the city may want to wait until after the results of the November election.

“We got a good return for the money we paid Ferguson over the years,” Rainey said. According to Rainey, the lobbying group brought in $4-6 million for the city while they were paid $65,000 a year for the services they rendered.

Earlier reports by Home in Henderson put the retainer fee at $78,000 per year. The same report also put the return of investment in the Ferguson Group at $20 to $1 in federal dollars captured during the first four years it was retained.

Council member Lonnie Davis added that the Ferguson Group is “one of the most respected groups in Washington”.

Member Garry Daeke endorsed Rainey’s idea, added that the incoming city manager should look at the Ferguson Group and “who else is out there”.

Council member Mike Inscoe said that the city has a $7 million HUD grant application in as well as a $3 million EPA grant application, both for the improvement of water infrastructure.

“Other than the fact that they [the applications] are there, we don’t have anyone pushing the issue in Washington,” Inscoe said.

The council did not set a specific timetable for researching the issue of paid lobbyists.

When the previous council voted to dismiss the Ferguson Group, it began a subscription to the eCivis software package to assist city staff in locating and applying for grants. The current council chose not to renew the software package during the last fiscal year’s budgeting process.