Report itemizes planned use of state tax money

Monday, Nov. 14, 2005 | 8:07 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The number of workers in state government and in the university system will exceed 25,000.

There will be $350,000 set aside to continue developing the Nevada Online Encyclopedia.

And the Boulder City Railroad Museum will be improved and expanded with an $859,140 appropriation.

Those and other facts about the state's spending pattern for the next two years are included in the Nevada Legislative Appropriations Report, released last week.

Prepared by the Legislative Fiscal Analysis Division, it details where the 2005 Legislature spent taxpayer money.

The Legislature approved a $5.8 billion general fund budget for the biennium, up 19 percent from the previous two fiscal years. The general fund is the money collected from taxpayers.

The $439.8 million for education is a 16.3 percent increase over 2003-2005.

Overall the Legislature authorized $13.7 billion, up from $12.7 million for 2003-05. This includes the state and federal funds and fees collected to support various programs.

Lorne Malkiewich, director of the Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau, said the report contains a "wealth of information for everybody who has the patience to go through it."

It provides a "useful tool" for budget analysts, state agencies and the Nevada System of Higher Education, he said. It pinpoints where the money is being spent and where taxes are collected.

For instance, there were 24,271 employees authorized in state government and the university system last fiscal year. That will rise to 25,577 by June 30, 2007. The state's workforce will grow from 17,062 to 18,181 by the end of the biennium.

Human services will add 775 positions during the biennium, mostly in mental health and child family services because of increased cases. Another 361 workers will be added in public safety, mostly to staff prisons.

The number of professional and classified workers in the university and community college system will grow from 7,208 last fiscal year to 7,395 by June 30, 2007.

A breakdown of spending shows 33.9 percent of the budget goes to kindergarten through high school; 19.8 percent to the university system, 28.3 percent to human resources; 8.9 percent to public safety; 2.8 percent to constitutional agencies; 3 percent to finance and administration and 1.7 percent to commerce and industry. Cy Ryan can be reached at (775) 687-5032 or at cy@lasvegassun.com.