North Las Vegas numbers add up to impasse

There's a story in the numbers.

This one is a story of a city's rise from a second-thought suburb into a new powerhouse so flush with cash that it must have seemed anything was possible.

That was North Las Vegas just four short years ago.

Now, though, the city is in trouble. The city's management tonight will recommend a drastic step to its City Council that, if it passes, could do away with parts of union contracts for two years.

The city and all four unions representing city employees have failed to reach agreements.

Teamsters Local 14, which represents most city workers except police officers and firefighters, barely rejected an agreement Thursday that probably would have avoided layoffs and required employees to forego raises for two years, and extended unpaid monthly furlough days.

Police and firefighters unions, too, did not give the city what its leaders were asking for.

Steve Harney, the Teamsters president, said the vote was close, 163 no to 160 yes.

"The harsh reality is, this is our reality," said Harney, who wanted the union to take the deal. "The city is going to lay off. We're going to see people lose their jobs."

Last month, the council OK'd 217 layoffs: 100 from the Police Department, 57 from the Fire Department and 60 others.

Tim Hacker, the city manager, said every one of those 217 positions is filled. The number includes no vacant positions, he said.

But he said layoffs are too dangerous within the police and fire departments. The city is already short-staffed in both areas. Losing more officers and firefighters could leave the city unsafe.

He proposed a resolution that would use a state law designed for physical emergencies - riots, civil unrest, military engagements.

Hacker wants the council to give him the power to use that law to suspend collective bargaining agreements with the unions for the next two years. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the resolution at 5 p.m. today.

If the resolution passes, Hacker said, he will force the same concessions on the unions that they would not agree to.

"If we can't get them voluntarily, then we think this safety valve exists," Hacker said.

City officials want the police and firefighters unions to give up contracted raises for the next two years and to give up uniform allowances and the ability to sell back unused holidays.

The unions have vowed to fight the action in court.

RISE AND FALL

Look at the numbers.

The city's general fund - this is the pool of money that funds most city services - stood at a paltry $115 million in 2004, the smallest of any large city in the state.

It grew, and it grew, and it grew until 2008, a reflection of out-of-control housing prices, which led to monstrous increases in property tax revenue to all of Nevada's cities.

But North Las Vegas, more dependent on property taxes than most cities because its share of sales taxes is generally lower, was the big winner. For a while.

The city's general fund in 2008, the apex of its climb, had nearly doubled, standing at $224 million.

The city that once had the smallest budget of any of the four big cities in Nevada now had a larger general fund budget than Reno, and it rivaled Henderson's. All three trailed only Las Vegas.

North Las Vegas grew to become the third-largest city in the state, nipping at Henderson's heels. Its police force grew, its Fire Department grew.

During those flush times, when contracts with the unions came up, there was never talk of concessions or layoffs. Indeed, cost-of-living raises were always OK'd, no problem at all.

Its officers and firefighters enjoyed above-average salaries and benefits.

But there were ripples in the bubble.

They showed up in the budget.

The general fund dropped by 6 percent in 2009. That's tough, but it's sustainable.

It sank again in 2010, by 4 percent.

Then the bottom dropped out.

Unemployment took over, what was left of the housing market exploded, and revenues all but dried up.

In 2011, the general fund dropped another 26 percent. The next year, another 17 percent. Between 2004 and the projected budget for 2013, the general fund dropped by 45 percent.

During the initial turmoil, the unions helped out. They gave up contracted pay raises.

Sometimes, those raises were promised in the next fiscal year, or the next one.

Hacker, who joined the city last year, described that strategy as "kicking the can down the road."

UNIONS REACT

Mike Yarter, the president of the city's Police Officer's Association, said its members have given up $20 million in concessions in the past four years.

The union will not agree to any more, he said. He has offered to sit down with city leaders to talk, but not until after today, when the city officially turns its budget in to state authorities.

He said he simply does not believe that the city's budget deficit is as high as the $33 million that Hacker has claimed it is.

"I don't know if layoffs are needed to balance the budget because they're not being honest with anyone," he said.

He said he would welcome a takeover by state authorities. He said his only goal is to keep the city's streets safe. That's what all police officers want, he said.

"Regardless of the economy, criminals are still out there," he said.

Jeff Hurley, president of the International Association of Firefighters Local 1607, said its members are rejecting concessions because they want guarantees that stations will be staffed and that, if they agree, there will be no layoffs.

"This is not about raises," Hurley said.

Hacker said he won't agree to make promises about the future. Doing so is largely what got the city into trouble into he first place, he said.

"We just can't do that," he said.

Contact reporter Richard Lake at rlake@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307.