County taking cautious look at capital projects

Adrienne Packer

Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2001 | 10:23 a.m.

Anticipating a possible downturn in the local economy, Clark County Manager Thom Reilly on Monday directed the finance division to put into place a contingency plan that could affect large-scale projects.

Finance Director George Stevens met with his staff Monday to look at county spending and planned to give a presentation to Clark County commissioners during their meeting today.

"We're making these contingencies based upon the economy," Reilly said. "How we're going to be handling the unknown and uncertainties."

Construction on capital projects scheduled to begin this year could be delayed, said Reilly, who added that it was too premature to name specifically what projects might be affected.

"We are already reviewing capital projects," Reilly said. "Unless they are statutorily mandated or there are set funding streams for them, we'll put a temporary hold on them to see how this plays out."

County leaders are particularly interested in operations at McCarran International Airport and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority during the next couple of weeks.

A slowdown in air travel not only affects revenues at McCarran, but it means fewer tourists on the Las Vegas Strip. A decrease in visitors also affects local restaurants and shops and the county's room tax revenues.

Reilly said the county is simply looking at being more efficient and has no plans to lay off employees. Administrators already enacted a hiring freeze throughout the government center last spring. All vacant positions must be reviewed by the county manager before they're filled.

"The good thing about the county is a lot of these things are already in place," Reilly said.

Administrators ordered the hiring freeze after its general fund growth rate was lower than they had anticipated last fiscal year. Rather than the 50 to 100 employees the county typically hires to accommodate growth, only 13 new workers were hired this year using general funds.

Reilly said the county will also take a closer look at traveling expenses and ensure that employees only travel when it's imperative.

"We started in this mode Friday," Reilly said. "The economy's on everyone's mind, nationally as well as locally."