Las Vegas council members add, restore 70 positions in $532 million spending plan

The Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted a $532 million spending plan, adding and restoring a combined 70 positions to the city’s workforce.

Across all funds, including the $347 million capital projects program, the 2017 fiscal year budget is $1.2 billion, which is flat from the current fiscal year.

The finalized budget marks the fifth year in a row the city has filed a balanced budget, Director of Finance Venetta Appleyard said.

Councilman Bob Coffin called the spending plan “inadequate.” He voiced concern about rising crime, calling the police force “undermanned” and “understaffed.” While the public safety share of the city budget has ballooned, without an ability to raise revenues in the form of property taxes, other services suffer, he said.

Property taxes make up about 18 percent of the city’s general fund revenue.

“The other way to look at it is, what are we doing for the people?” Coffin said. “We’re probably fulfilling the minimum demands of the people. But I think there is more that is expected of us.”

The council voted 6-0 in favor of the spending plan. Councilman Ricki Barlow was absent.

The city’s $532 million general fund budget is up by $19 million from the current year.

The city’s share of funding to the Metropolitan Police Department bumped up by 2 percent over the current year because of a one-time, $10 million fund balance contribution from Metro. That $138.7 million expenditure makes up 26 percent of the city’s annual budget, the second-largest segment after salary and benefits, which accounts for more than half of the budget.

More than half of the added positions, 42, are in public safety, and there are 28.5 nonpublic-safety positions in the budget.

Even with the new positions, the city’s workforce outside of public safety is about 2,500, 20 percent lower than where it was before the recession in fiscal year 2008. Public safety employment is 5 percent higher than it was in fiscal year 2008.

The budget also calls for $24.3 million in funding to be shared among six recreational projects, including Gilmore Cliff Shadows park, Charleston Heights Park and Bill Briare Park.

Leaders of city departments were asked to submit budgets that included a 2 percent reduction from their status quo, amounting to about $4.5 million in savings. Another roughly $3 million was trimmed in the past month from the city’s tentative budget, which contained an operating deficit.

Contact Jamie Munks at jmunks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Find @JamieMunksRJ on Twitter.