New library bond request planned

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, Feb. 15, 2001 | 11:48 a.m.

Clark County library administrators are rethinking their $73.9 million bond proposal and subsequent plan to build six facilities after their presentations last week received a cool response from elected officials.

Karen Bramwell Thomas, spokeswoman for the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, said the district is trying to cut the cost and will likely scratch two libraries from their plans.

"We listened to the elected officials and we've been crunching numbers, trying to reduce the cost," Bramwell Thomas said Tuesday. "Everything is up in the air." The new proposal, which is expected to be completed Friday, will be presented to the library board Feb. 21 and ultimately passed on to the Debt Management Commission.

The 11-member debt management panel, made up of representatives from local governments and organizations, will decide whether to place a bond question on June's municipal election ballot.

Bramwell Thomas said the district's goal is to adjust the bond request so that it doesn't push certain government entities into the 90 percent range of the statewide tax rate cap. The cap is set at $3.64 per $100 of assessed value.

The initial bond request would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home $13.04 a year. While the cost seems minimal, elected officials in Las Vegas and Clark County agreed the money might be needed should they face any crises in the near future.

"No one can quarrel with the need for more libraries. But you're going public at a very rough time," Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman told library officials last Wednesday.

Goodman echoed sentiments of Clark County commissioners, who a day earlier expressed concerns over potential increases in utility rates as a result of the deregulation of the power industry.

Both county and city officials also said with growth continuing to explode, the money might be needed in a hurry to address public safety issues.

Each government entity tries to stay below the 90 percent range, allowing the remaining 10 percent to be readily available for emergencies. The initial library proposal would have put Las Vegas into the 90 percent range and pushed some rural county entities further into the range.

Because four county districts are already above 90 percent of the cap, it is uncertain whether library officials can lower the proposal enough to satisfy county officials.

Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams, who is also chairwoman of the debt management board, declined to comment on the library district's attempt to rework its proposal until it is completed.

"I have not seen the new proposal," she said. "It would be irresponsible to comment on it right now."