County union members urge tapping reserve

"Save our services!"

That was the battle cry of a couple hundred Clark County union workers who marched at a rally Monday, brandishing signs and calling for their elected leaders to spend money on children, the elderly and the poor instead of building projects.

County commissioners will hear that same message today from union representatives who will submit recommendations from employee focus groups on how to deal with budget gaps.

Union leaders say the county can avoid cuts in social programs by diverting money from a capital improvement reserve known as Fund 437, which they say has as much as $479 million available to cover operating costs.

"I think the people have to come first, not the projects," said Richard Long, a social worker who attended the rally at the county Government Center. "That's the rule of government: to provide services to the community."

The fund is mainly surplus tax dollars from the previous year. It is unrestricted, except for money that already has been committed to contractors doing work.

This fund could make up for the $9.3 million that social services lost and the $4.6 million that family services lost because of the state's recent actions, union officials said.

"Come on, who are you fooling here?" said Al Martinez, president of Service Employees International Union Local 1107. "We know there's money available."

The top recommendation from employee focus groups is to transfer capital money to social services. Second on the list is to reduce what they see as top-heavy management, Martinez said.

Union representatives contend the county could put off the $5.6 million demolition of its downtown Bridger Building, and a $3.2 million Family Court remodeling job.

They also say the county has about $250 million that has yet to be earmarked sitting in the bank. The fund generated about $34 million in interest last year, said Mike Ward, an SEIU researcher.

If the county paid for all of the capital improvements it has on tap through 2014, it would have roughly $244 million left, Ward said.

"You're going to cut social services and keep our money?" he said. "That doesn't seem to be what taxpayers intended."

Don Burnette, the county's chief administrative officer, agreed there was money that could be transferred from the fund and projects that could be postponed. But he said the union was looking at last year's figures and, in turn, was overestimating how much money is available.

He said he was sure the current amount will be considerably less than $479 million. Much of the money that appears available is really tied up in partially finished projects.

County staff is in the midst of calculating how much is in the fund and will submit an update to commissioners in two weeks, Burnette said. He said that the dollar amount listed in the 2009-10 budget was a forecast, not an up-to-date number.

If commissioners choose to spend the money on services instead of capital projects, it will be a one-time fix, with little or nothing left for next year's financial woes, Burnette said. "It's not a long-term solution to budget problems."

Commissioner Steve Sisolak agreed. Although some money could be diverted, the fund cannot be drained to cover services because it pays for equipment that the county needs to function, he said.

Debate lingers about whether a budgetary cap prevents the county from spending more money on certain social services, even if money could be transferred from the capital fund.

County Counsel Mary-Anne Miller said an emergency must arise from an unforeseen event or disaster before the county could circumvent the cap. She contends that the county could see the budget shortfalls coming, so they do not qualify as an emergency.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said that the county could declare an emergency: At least it's a shot at helping its most vulnerable residents. "I'd rather err on the side of people," she said.

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