Monday, Jan. 8, 2001 | 11:21 a.m.
Key dates
With $300,000 already in the bank of the newly formed downtown redevelopment agency, Boulder City Councilman Bill Smith says he is satisfied with his accomplishments and will not likely seek re-election.
But for Mike Pacini, the other freshman councilman up for re-election this spring, much remains to be done.
When voters go to the polls, first on April 3 for primary municipal elections and then on June 5 for the general election, they will choose two council members from a field of candidates that likely will include Pacini as the only incumbent. Boulder City's four council members and mayor are elected at large.
Voters probably will decide two ballot issues as well, both concerning salary raises for City Council members.
Pacini, 33, a grocery store clerk and father of two young children, could face competition from several challengers in his run for a second term, according to Smith and one of those likely challengers, Ned Morang.
Morang, 60, a retired city electrician and longtime resident, said he plans to make a second run for the City Council. Backed by the Teamsters Union Local 14 and the Las Vegas Labor Council, Morang won 10 percent of the primary vote in an unsuccessful bid for City Council in 1998. He was one of seven candidates for two seats.
Morang said protecting water rights for Boulder City would be his main priority.
"In 2023 there could be a possible shortage all over the valley, so everyone better start watching the water, not giving it away," Morang said.
Water is also a priority for Pacini. He wants to bring a second water pipeline to the city to keep ahead of increased demand. Pacini also would work to build a second municipal golf course and to provide more affordable housing for the elderly, he said.
Pacini sits on a number of regional committees, including the Nevada League of Cities, the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board and the Regional Jail Commission.
Smith is also completing his first term as councilman. But at 74 years old, he no longer wants to pass up personal opportunities in order to fulfill his board duties, he said.
He named the establishment in 1999 of the redevelopment agency as his most important contribution to the City Council. The agency will give the city "funding we wouldn't otherwise have" to improve the downtown, he said.
Smith wouldn't rule out a second run, though. He hopes to see two candidates emerge whom he can support.
Voters will also most likely decide two ballot questions, both initiated by Smith. The first would repeal City Council salary raises approved in June and scheduled to go into effect this spring.
Boulder City is believed to have the only charter in the state that allows city officials to benefit from raises approved in the same term of office, Smith said.
The second petition would amend the city charter to prohibit city officials from voting themselves such same-term raises in the future.
The petition to repeal the raises -- $5,000 a year for councilmen and $8,000 for the mayor, a roughly 48 percent raise -- has been authorized for the ballot by the city clerk. The clerk is still verifying signatures for the second petition.
In connection with the second petition, Smith filed an ethics complaint against Mayor Robert Ferraro for not disclosing that the raise would mean an increase of $300 a month in retirement benefits for him when his term ends in 2003. Ferraro had announced he planned to retire after this term.
A state ethics panel agreed in December that Ferraro violated ethics rules. During ethics hearings, Ferraro's lawyer said the mayor may not retire.
"Hopefully the ballot questions will become a high-profile campaign issue," Smith said. "Because I think people don't now realize the implications of what the council has tried to do."
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