New shot at Henderson bond issue considered

Jeffrey Libby

Thursday, Jan. 25, 2001 | 10:16 a.m.

A second run at a public safety bond may have a better chance of passing, if a recent survey is any indication.

A privately financed survey of 400 Henderson households taken over the weekend shows 54 percent of them would support a tax initiative similar to one that was narrowly rejected just 10 weeks ago.

In November, with 61,422 votes cast, the initiative to raise taxes to hire more police and firefighters took 49 percent of the vote, falling 865 votes short of a victory.

The survey will be discussed 5:30 p.m. today at City Hall during a special meeting called to explore floating another such initiative on June's municipal ballot.

Jim Ferrence, a spokesman for Citizens for a Safer Henderson, said the 20-member group requested the study to help gauge what went wrong in November. He attributed the 5 percent increase in support to a new understanding on the part of those polled that not voting for the initiative could have a significant negative impact on their quality of life.

The survey focused on precincts where the initiative fared worst, including such areas as townsite, Black Mountain and River Mountain.

Without the bond issue, the city could lose a $2.25 million federal grant to partially fund the salaries of 30 additional Henderson police officers.

The federal money would require $3.9 million in matching funds over three years. City officials have said the $836,000 required for the first year can't be squeezed from a projected $120 million budget for 2001.

In addition, city officials have warned that without funding from the tax initiative, money earmarked for parks and other less critical services may have to be transferred to public safety.

"I would be really reluctant to sacrifice parks and rec, baseball, all those things," Clark said, because they play a key role in deterring crime. "I know what the end result will be. I've seen it in other cities."

The City Council has not decided whether to revive the initiative for the June ballot, but Ferrence says his ad hoc group is prepared to run a stronger campaign this spring.

"It will be difficult. I realize it will be a real challenge. But even if the initiative fails, the effort should be made. None of us wants to see the quality of life diminished in Henderson," Ferrence said.

The initiative proposed in November would have taxed homeowners $84 annually per $100,000 of assessed valuation to pay the salaries of more than 200 new public safety workers over a period of three years.

Magellan Research, a Las Vegas-based company, conducted the recent poll. Details of how much the study cost or who will pay the bill have not been determined.