EDITORIAL: Henderson’s problem is its payroll, not recreation fees

As soon as today, the Henderson City Council could vote on a new round of park and recreation fee increases. The city says it needs more revenue because existing fees are lower than those of other cities, leaving its services underfunded. In reality, the city wants to grab more money from residents because it can’t afford its most recent rounds of employee pay raises.

As reported Saturday by the Review-Journal’s Eric Hartley, the proposed park and recreation fee increases would boost city revenues by between $2 million and $3 million. Some of those increases would be especially burdensome to residents, particularly those with children in sports leagues and on swimming teams. Fees will more than double for the Boulder City Henderson Heatwave swimming club, according to coach Mike Polk. In an email to council members, the father of one girl on the team said he could not afford the higher fee and would have to remove her from the club if the fee increases were approved.

Council members have provided themselves with a small amount of political cover. The fee increases were recommended by a consultant, hired by the city last year to study Henderson’s parks and recreation pricing. The $55,000 study determined Henderson’s recreation fees are below those of other cities. Robert Murnane, Henderson’s public works and parks and recreation director, said the city’s user fees cover about 22 percent of recreation costs when the national target is closer to 30 percent.

But what’s important here isn’t Henderson’s fees in relation to those of other cities, but what its residents can afford to pay. Henderson, like the rest of Nevada, is still recovering from the Great Recession. Many thousands of homeowners are still underwater. Still more residents are underemployed and haven’t seen their incomes rise.

City employees haven’t had that problem. They’re the best-paid local government workforce in the state, with salaries and benefits that are far better than those of the people who fund their compensation. And the council is always eager to pay city employees even more. Last month, the council signed off on a new contract for police officers that will cost the city an extra $616,000 this year and $1.2 million next year. Less than a year ago, the council approved pay raises for workers represented by the Teamsters that cost the government $895,556 in the first year and $1.14 million in the second. City Attorney Josh Reid is up for a big raise. And who could forget last year’s plan to give 66 administrators new professional allowances at the same time some of those same administrators were leading budget workshops to tell residents the city had to cut recreation center hours and services and raise fees.

Last year, city officials also floated a property tax increase for infrastructure — on the recommendation from a committee that was not allowed to examine city employee pay. City leaders like to argue that employee compensation, Henderson’s largest cost, and recreation fees are apples and oranges. But what the city pays its police officers and clerical workers has a direct effect on its ability to fund recreation. All operational spending comes from the same pot.

The Henderson City Council should reject the recreation fee increases. It isn’t fair to ask city residents to get by with less so Henderson employees can have more.