County commissioners defend outlays for park-opening parties

Adrienne Packer

Monday, Oct. 29, 2001 | 9:32 a.m.

Clark County commissioners enacted a hiring freeze because of slowing revenues and scoffed at state legislators' perception that Clark County is a fat cat.

They have directed staff members to be frugal in light of a shaky economy and urged locals to assist laid-off workers after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

But, despite the public belt-tightening, the county's elected officials have not slowed a long tradition of throwing pricey park-opening celebrations.

Earlier this month Commissioner Erin Kenny christened the county's first indoor pool with a ribbon-cutting party at Desert Breeze Park. The cost: nearly $40,000, parks and recreation records show.

Kenny and county Finance Director George Stevens said the event was planned long before more than 10,000 area casino workers were laid off and before commissioners began looking for funds to give the United Way or Red Cross to help local families.

Still, commissioners have spent, or plan to spend, more than $100,000 on park-opening celebrations between Sept. 11 and November.

Of that, $36,000 was budgeted. The other celebrations were paid for using funds left over from the project.

By comparison, the city of Las Vegas has invested about $19,000 on ground breakings and openings in the same period.

The money the county spent on the Desert Breeze pool opening alone could have kept nearly 60 Las Vegas Valley families who have suffered a job loss from being evicted from their homes, United Way of Southern Nevada President Garth Winckler said.

When the United Way had enough money to provide rental assistance to households hurt by the slow economy during the past month, it disseminated an average of $672 per family, he said.

Winckler said if his organization received a $100,000 donation, it would likely continue to help local displaced employees with bills.

"We would open back up our rental assistance program that we're providing families facing eviction," Winckler said. "One hundred percent of that money would go toward stopping evictions."

Commissioners point out that they have done a lot for laid-off workers. The board allocated $200,000 in county funds for the United Way and allowed more than $1 million in federal and state grants to go toward rental assistance plans.

"Helping displaced workers is the responsibility of the whole community," Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates said. "It shouldn't be the sole responsibility of one entity or one section of government."

The county cannot afford to abandon such celebrations, Kenny said, especially in a time when residents are deluged with negative news. Because the media doesn't cover openings, commissioners are forced to promote the events themselves.

"These events are well received," Kenny said. "Events that bring the community together are always important ones. Any event that brings Nevadans together in one place, in one environment, is a wonderful expenditure."

Stevens said money used for park openings is either included in the project's budget or is taken from commissioners' discretionary coffers well in advance of the celebration. The parties could have been scaled down, but services such as catering had already been paid for.

"They started planning these events a long time ago; some have been planned for months," Stevens said. "The discussions about displaced workers didn't come up until the end of September."

Commissioner Bruce Woodbury agreed that most events are planned well in advance, and the bulk of the money wouldn't likely be recovered if the events were canceled.

However, Woodbury said that although the economy is unstable, commissioners should be more conscious of their spending.

"We're going through the process of re-prioritizing and putting things on hold until we know what will happen with revenues," Woodbury said. "You can always come up with all kinds of needs out there, and you can spend money on that. You need to look at the whole picture before committing on any project."