County agencies offer to cut back
A nip here, a snip there.
That's Clark County's immediate approach to trimming costs as it faces a $64 million loss in tax revenue and more than $55 million in program cuts under the governor's proposed two-year budget.
Several department heads offered line-item cutbacks to the commission Tuesday that added up to more than $6 million.
All said that they had pored over their departments' budgets looking for any program they could scrap, any equipment they could forgo and any job they could leave unfilled.
Clark County Fire Chief Steve Smith said he tried to get his department's 817 employees to pitch in. "We've asked our members to contribute to our cost-containment measures," Smith said.
The fire department would save $1.8 million this year with the plan Smith put forth. Its annual operating budget is $133.7 million.
The plan calls for trimming overtime by $667,000 per year. Last year, firefighters pulled in $14.5 million in overtime and are on pace to rack up a similar amount this year.
Smith also hopes to save about $859,000 by creating a relief staff that would earn regular pay instead of overtime for covering unscheduled leave. Other savings would come through buying smaller fire engines, slashing worker programs and forgoing new gear.
Other departments proposed these cost reductions: Air Quality and Environmental Management, $755,000; Comprehensive Planning, $863,000; Parks and Recreation, $841,000; and Real Property Management, $1.8 million.
The air quality department has reduced its pollen monitoring and is deciding whether to scrap this popular program altogether for a total savings of $56,000, said Lewis Wahlenmeyer, the agency's director.
Gov. Jim Gibbons has proposed a budget that over two years would slice $11 million from social services, $27 million from the indigent accident fund and $16 million from Medicaid reimbursement, county officials say. It would also divert $32 million to $47 million in tax revenue yearly from the county's coffers.
Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.
