Pipeline, golf course force budget expansion

Jeffrey Libby

Wednesday, May 16, 2001 | 8:56 a.m.

A planned second water pipeline into Boulder City and a 27-hole municipal golf course will more than double the municipal budget for fiscal year 2001-2002.

The Boulder City Council on Tuesday approved an $85.1 million budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. That's up from the $34.7 million budget for the current year.

But even with the 145 percent jump in the municipal budget, taxpayers should see only a slight increase in property taxes. The property tax rate will increase only a fraction of a penny, from 20.22 cents per $100 property valuation to 20.38 cents.

That means property taxes for a $100,000 home will increase from $70.77 to $71.33 in fiscal year 2001-2002, amounting to a 56-cent increase for the year.

Finance Director Bob Kenney said the city expects to pay for the $34 million water pipeline through revenues from large water users. Those current commercial customers include Eldorado Energy, which operates a natural gas-fired energy plant in the Eldorado Valley, and Park Place Entertainment, which maintains a golf course for high-rolling gamblers just east of Railroad Pass.

The $18 million municipal golf course will also help pay for the water line, Kenney said.

Kenney characterized the high expense for the second water line as a "once-in-a-lifetime expenditure" that should provide for Boulder City's water needs for the next 30 to 40 years.

Kenney, like other city officials, says the city needs the increased water-carrying capacity to safeguard its water allotment from the Colorado River.

The city will issue about $40 million in bonds to help pay for the pipeline and the golf course, increasing projected revenues to $69.4 million in fiscal year 2002.

Expected revenue for 2001, which ends June 30, will be closer to $29.7 million.

Other major expenditures for fiscal year 2002 include $2 million to complete soccer fields and a fishing pond at Veterans Memorial Park, $1 million for street improvements and $700,000 for airport improvements.