Clark County fire prevention bureau facing layoffs, cuts

Five employees in Clark County’s fire prevention bureau will be laid off in mid-April and eight vacant jobs will be slashed in response to anemic construction in the Las Vegas valley.

The slowdown in construction has led to fewer sites that need inspecting and, in turn, a drop in the fees used to help fund the 65-person bureau, county officials said.

The situation is similar to county development services, an agency that depends on builders’ fees. That department has slashed 380 jobs in the past five years as permits have fallen to 42,000 from 100,000 during the height of the building boom.

One difference is the fire bureau doesn’t rely solely on fees.

In 2009, the bureau’s costs exceeded its inspection-fee revenue by $7 million, requiring almost $5 million in property taxes as a supplement.