LV City Council approves budget
As expected, next year's city of Las Vegas budget will leave positions vacant, delay equipment replacement and trim or defer capital projects in a plan to make ends meet for the next few years, when expenses are expected to grow faster than revenues.
"We are looking at a downturn," said Mark Vincent, the city's finance director. "From our perspective, fiscal year 2010 is going to be the bottom year."
City Council members approved the fiscal year 2009 budget Tuesday, but Vincent presented information showing tight revenues through 2013 and the possibility Las Vegas' revenues will not start growing again at the double-digit rates of recent memory.
The overall budget for 2009 is $1.5 billion, including all projects and revenue sources.
Officials spent the most time discussing the $537 million general fund, which pays for operations such as personnel and public safety.
That is about $20 million short of projected expenses, with the difference being made up from reserves. The city also is freezing the equivalent of 186 positions.
The reserves could face a lot of strain in coming years, Vincent said, outlining a plan to pare about $30 million from future capital spending to keep them from being drained.
The frozen positions are likely to remain unfilled for the foreseeable future, and budgets for overtime, travel and supplies have been cut. Workers not represented by unions will not get merit raises, but some still receive cost-of-living adjustments.
Raises for unionized employees are required in collective bargaining agreements with the city. Labor costs make up about 75 percent of the city's operating expenses.
The economic downturn has caused collections of the consolidated sales tax to drop, putting a crimp in the budgets of all local governments.
The "c-tax" used to make up about 52 percent of the general fund budget, Vincent said. In 2009, it is expected to be 46 percent.
"That's not because other revenues are growing faster," he said. "It's because the c-tax is in the doldrums."
Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.
