Indigent services at risk in shortfall

Homeless adults could be among the worst hit in the Legislature's $125 million revenue grab that has left Clark County with an immediate budget gap, officials said Friday.

County commissioners on Tuesday will begin looking at how to adjust the $1.3 billion operating budget to make up for the $30.4 million in property tax money that the state will take this year.

The county has until the end of June to submit an amended budget to the state.

"We're just now getting a sense of the impacts," said Don Burnette, the county's chief administrative officer.

Social Services stands to lose $9.3 million used to fund non-medical programs that aid adults who are either homeless or destitute. The Southern Nevada Health District will lose $2.3 million.

Nancy McLane, the county's social services director, said reduced funding will fall heaviest on the homeless.

"This hit could virtually wipe out our rental assistance," McLane said.

Although medical programs were spared, the drop in rental aid could ultimately increase indigent medical costs because homeless people are more prone to illness, malnutrition and injury, McLane said.

McLane said her agency gets 30 percent of the county's property tax. So when the state took 4 cents from the 46.2 cents that the county charges for every $1,000 in assessed value, the agency began drawing from the smaller rate of 42.2 cents.

That adds up to a $9.3 million loss, she explained.

The state also raised its fees for administering consolidated taxes, a bump that will cost the county an additional $4.2 million this year, Burnette said.

One bright spot is the $7.5 million that the county will receive from vehicle registration fees.

Also, 60 or so employees quit to receive a week's severance pay for every two years of service, Burnette said. That saves $1.2 million in the short term and much more in the future because those jobs will stay vacant, he added.

Lawmakers authorized the county to pull $7 million a year from a transportation program to be used as needed. But Burnette said that may not happen because the county is already losing about $38 million in transportation money to the state.

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.