Extra $11 million will help wish lists

Erin Neff

Tuesday, June 29, 1999 | 9:45 a.m.

Although much smaller than the national budget surplus being argued over in Washington, D.C., extra money in the city of Las Vegas coffers drew similar wish lists Monday.

Finance Director Mark Vincent said the money came from a higher-than-anticipated return of money from the state's consolidated taxes.

The 10 percent increase in that revenue -- which includes sales tax -- brought in $11 million in extra money.

Resident Ed Uehling asked the council to return the money to taxpayers.

"I think this could be a chance ... to at least return to the people the excess," Uehling said.

Vincent said technically that cannot be done because the revenue is not city generated through taxes or other means.

"Sales taxes wouldn't give money back to the people who actually paid for them," Vincent said.

The bulk of the surplus -- slightly more than $6.7 million -- will be spent on capital improvement projects. Public Works will get $1 million of that for nominal drainage projects and $500,000 will go to traffic improvements.

More than $4.1 million will go to parks. It will be spent to upgrade park restrooms, fund Heritage Park, design other parks, build a neighborhood park at Ann and Cimarron roads and complete work at Torrey Pines, Doolittle, Children's Memorial and Palo Verde parks and recreation centers.

The remaining $1 million will be kept in a city building reserve.

In addition, $3.5 million of the surplus will be used to help pay for an employee buyout program approved Monday.

Another $1.8 million of the surplus will be used to operate the city's planned government television channel.