Henderson mayor focusing on hospital growth

Henderson Mayor Andy Hafen said Thursday he hopes the state Legislature will temporarily lift a property tax cap, a move that would mean higher tax bills for city residents.

Hafen’s remarks came after his State of the City speech, in which he said a new hospital and another hospital’s expansion will help Henderson lead the way in health-care innovation.

The speech did not directly mention the possibility of a property tax increase, which Hafen and some other city leaders have supported as a way to keep providing “premier” city services.

But Hafen told the crowd he hopes the Legislature’s upcoming session will include discussions about “local control and home rule.” He added, “Along with many of our counterparts, we’re hopeful for the possibility of having the additional autonomy to provide the services that our businesses and residents need.”

After the speech, Hafen said he would support a one-year lifting of the state tax cap, which has kept city revenues from rebounding following the collapse of home values in the recession.

Under current state law, tax bills can go up by no more than 3 percent a year for owner-occupied residential properties and no more than 8 percent for commercial properties, no matter how far they fall during a recession. As a result, property tax revenues, which were $85.7 million in 2009, were projected to be $59.7 million this year.

Henderson’s City Council can only raise the tax rate by 3 cents per $100 of assessed value without going to the voters. Last year, the council voted to end discussions on a tax hike ballot question until after the 2015 legislative session. It’s still possible Henderson voters could see such a question in 2016.

Councilman Sam Bateman said he opposes a tax increase and thinks voters would reject it. Councilwoman Gerri Schroder said she won’t make up her mind on taxes until reviewing the budget situation and hearing what her constituents want.

Nevada cities have long pushed to establish “home rule,” which would give them more autonomy on a range of issues, and a bill has been proposed to do so this year. But the Legislature has rejected such proposals in the past.

Home rule is a separate question from the tax issue, Hafen said. If the property tax cap were lifted, he said, the City Council would not need to pass legislation raising taxes: Higher home values would make tax bills go up automatically. But Hafen said he supports keeping a tax cap in place in the long term because it keeps homeowners’ bills from rising out of control.

Hafen opened his State of the City speech by telling a crowd of 960 people about his granddaughter, Aly, who suddenly fell ill in September and stopped eating. After she was hospitalized, the 1-year-old girl’s heart stopped several times before doctors determined a virus had attacked it.

Aly survived, but the 16-month-old is still receiving treatment and faces more challenges as she goes in and out of the hospital, Hafen said, fighting back tears as he thanked people for supporting his family.

“It’s helped me appreciate, more than ever, how wonderful a community we live in,” the mayor said in his speech in a ballroom at Green Valley Ranch. “But I’ve also become keenly aware of the hundreds of other families who are going through similar trials.”

Hafen then highlighted two hospital projects.

A developer broke ground in October on Union Village, a health-care campus that will be home to Henderson Hospital, a new 214-bed acute-care facility scheduled to open in 2016.

Also underway is an expansion of St. Rose Dominican Hospital’s Siena campus that will double the size of the emergency department and add 100 beds and six operating rooms.

Hafen said he wants to make the city a leader in bringing together hospitals, businesses and schools.

“We want to foster a world class culture for medicine and health care by creating what we call the Henderson Healthcare Corridor,” he said.

Hafen also touted the expected for any Henderson mayor: the city’s inclusion on lists of the “safest” cities in the country, its good schools and its award-winning network of parks and trails, which last year added five new parks and almost eight miles of trails.

Hafen said five more parks, one constructed by developers, should open in 2015.

Capping his speech, Hafen spoke of several businesses that have recently opened or announced new facilities in Henderson, including computer firm VadaTech, mining company Barrick Gold, Barclaycard US, organic food company Living Ecology, and food conglomerate Unilever.

Amid a rebounding economy, Hafen said cuts made by the City Council have helped the city close its yearly budget in the black.

“While we’ve turned a corner and are beginning to see increasing signs of recovery and stability,” he said, “we know we still have a long road to get to where we need to be.”

Contact Eric Hartley at ehartley@reviewjournal.com or 702-550-9229. Find him on Twitter: @ethartley.