New water district budget approved with steep cuts

The revenue-starved Las Vegas Valley Water District will cut operating expenses by $23.1 million and its overall budget by $35.6 million under a spending plan adopted Monday.

The $332.5 million budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 reflects a sharp drop in revenue from water sales and new customer hookups.

"We're as affected as anyone else by the financial downturn," said Pat Mulroy, general manager of the water district.

The current budget, adopted last May, originally called for $368.1 million in spending, but that figure has been trimmed to $344.2 million because of falling revenue.

Mulroy said new customer connection charges in particular "have all but fallen off the charts" as the valley's growth has slowed to a halt.

In the past four months alone, the water district has refunded $2.2 million in connection charges to developers who have "retired their subdivision maps and abandoned their developments," she said.

The Clark County Commission, which serves as the water district's board of directors, approved the new budget without discussion.

No one addressed the commissioners during the public hearing that preceded Monday's vote.

The water district's cost-cutting moves for the coming year include a four-day workweek for most employees, minimal travel, deferred vehicle replacement and the elimination of all cost-of-living raises.

Most of the district's 1,504 full-time employees still will be eligible for up to $4 million in longevity pay and performance-based merit increases during the coming fiscal year. Overall, though, the district expects to reduce its payroll costs by 2.5 percent, or about $3 million, from the current year.

Roughly 157 paid interns, contract employees and temporary workers are being let go, and about 75 vacant full-time positions will be left unfilled.

Since 2000, the district's customer base has expanded by 53 percent, but total water use has remained essentially flat because of conservation and, more recently, the faltering economy and sharp rise in housing vacancies.

Also in response to the slowdown, Nevada's largest water utility has delayed roughly $401 million worth of construction projects, including several new reservoirs and major distribution lines.

"It's development-related stuff," said Deputy General Manager Dick Wimmer, so there is no great need to complete the work right now.

Contact reporter Henry Brean at hbrean @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350.