North Las Vegas mayor remains upbeat in State of City address

Facing at least one challenger in June's municipal election, North Las Vegas Mayor Shari Buck reflected on the positive change she has seen in the city in the past year during her State of the City address Tuesday.

Buck addressed a room full of city employees, residents, business owners, local and state politicians, and her parents as she reviewed the city's progress and promoted the motto "Come build with us" at Texas Station hotel-casino.

"This past year, our City Council came together on goals, progression and purpose as never before," Buck said.

She recognized North Las Vegas Councilman Robert Eliason, who will be leaving office this year after reaching his term limit of 12 years. Buck and Eliason attended Rancho High School together.

Buck expressed what City Manager Tim Hacker described as a "realistic" view of the city's financial health.

"To be honest, you all know it's been a time of challenge, a time of change, and yes, even a time of triumph," Buck said.

She thanked the City Council for its "bold" action addressing the city's budget such as closing the jail and moving officers and prisoners to the Las Vegas jail.

She highlighted North Las Vegas-based companies SasaSweets/Sasapops, Windset Farms, NLV Bottling Company and Clearwater Paper Corporation, pointing to the cucumbers in the salads of the luncheon guests' plates as being among the 40,000 cucumbers produced daily at Windset Farms.

Mayoral candidate John Lee, a former state senator, released his response to Buck's address.

"Our town is bankrupt and on the verge of losing its city charter. The leadership necessary to save our town is missing from the top spot in North Las Vegas," Lee said.

In recent years, the city was hit by high unemployment and foreclosure rates. North Las Vegas underwent budget cuts and substantially reduced the number of city employees in what was once the country's third-fastest-growing city from 2000 until 2009.

Buck said she plans to continue to address the city's financial issues while trying to avoid cutting services.

"It's a new day, and we're dealing with these issues," Buck said. "We welcome 2013 as a year of hope and unlimited opportunity."

Hacker said it was important for the mayor to remind residents to remain upbeat. "It (Buck's speech) was based in reality but focused on what we all need to remember, which is that the best years of North Las Vegas is in our future," Hacker said.

Contact Centennial and North Las Vegas View reporter Laura Phelps at lphelps@viewnews.com or 702-477-3839.