County hammers out new budget

Adrienne Packer

Friday, March 26, 1999 | 11:11 a.m.

Six minutes might be the difference between life and death for a person suffering a heart attack. It could also mean moderate fire damage to a home rather than a total loss.

Larry Dau, the Clark County Fire Department's chief logistics officer, said Thursday during a hearing about the county's $631 million operating budget that it takes firefighters four to six minutes to respond to most calls.

But, Dau said, because of the new development that has blanketed the valley, it takes crews as long as 12 minutes to reach Sunrise Manor and Silverado.

About 53 percent of the county's total 1999-2000 budget will go toward public safety, but the department will receive only one new station in the southeast. Dau said three more stations are needed to catch up with growth.

"Because of the rapid growth, there is a disparity in the fire stations availability and how many more we need," Dau told Clark County commissioners during Thursday's special meeting.

A $14.5 million general-fund budget within the operating budget is set aside mainly for public safety expenses -- $4 million for 86 new staff members within the Family and Youth Services Department, $1.5 million for a new fire station in the southeast, and $6 million for employees at the county's new detention center when it opens.

County Finance Director George Stevens said although the new jail won't open until fall 2001, employees need to be hired during this fiscal year, which begins in July.

"Obviously when you're hiring this much staff and training is needed, you need to hire in advance," Stevens said.

One eye-catching figure on the upcoming budget -- which will receive final approval in May -- is the county's spending compared to revenues, $639.6 million vs. $631 million.

Assistant Finance Director Susan Laveway said the numbers alone are misleading. The county's operating budget for spending is actually $600 million, she said. The discrepancy occurred because of a one-time transfer of $39 million from contingency funds into capital improvement coffers, which are used for major construction projects.

"We are operating in the positive," she said.

Also on Thursday, commissioners discussed how to handle a decrease in the debt service rate. Residents throughout the valley should save 3/4-cent because of the decrease, but county citizens might not see the break.

Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates suggested keeping the tax the same and using the money to build more fire stations, which could legally be done without voter approval.

Dau said the station that will be built this fiscal year is from a 1995 bond issue. County Manager Dale Askew said the county plans to build 13 more stations in the next decade, but another bond issue won't be needed until 2004.

Dau said the timing of the bond issue is fine, as long as the county will fund a few new fire stations before then.

"If they decided to come up with the funding for two or three more stations, we could get to 2004," Dau said.

Dau said the county has benefited from agreements with developers in Summerlin, Rhodes Ranch and the yet-to-be-built Southern Highlands. Each developer either donated land or constructed the fire station or did both.

"We need to look out to the future a little bit further," Dau said. "Developers don't want to pay the money and taxpayers don't want increased taxes. But this is a community problem."