Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2005 | 8:46 a.m.
It's time that North Las Vegas' municipal government stop acting less like Mayberry and more like one of the largest American cities that it soon will be, according to a management audit commissioned by the city.
If city officials want to improve services, properly manage the unprecedented growth and reap their reward of property tax revenue, North Las Vegas needs major reorganization, stable leadership and beefed-up staffing levels, the audit concluded.
Among its 97 recommendations, the report called for smaller and more frequent utility rate increases, opening what is now a four-days-a-week City Hall on Fridays, charging developers more fees to pay for growth, and large investments in information technology to improve productivity and customer service.
As the third-fasting growing city in the country with 181,000 people -- a population increasing by 1,200 people a month -- North Las Vegas will be one of America's 50th largest cities in 20 years. When built out in later years, it will be the 24th largest city in the country with nearly 600,000 people, ranking with Boston, Seattle and Denver, the audit said.
"The greatest challenge facing the city is for it to move toward a 'big-city' orientation," the audit said. "In many respects, North Las Vegas is already a big city that operates on the premise of a small city."
Although progress has been made with a more tightly managed organization under City Manager Gregory Rose, the audit criticized the city for a history of weak central management marked by frequent changes of direction and personnel. Rose's 2003 appointment made him North Las Vegas' fourth city manager in five years.
Over the years, the changes in direction and staff have caused departments to view themselves as separate from the city. While that is understandable in an environment of uncertainty and instability, it is not a good way to run the city, the audit said. Policies may be lacking or vary across departments, and policymakers and top managers may not be informed because of ad-hoc communications.
"It will take a commitment on the part of the City Council as well as top management to show that an era of strong, stable and certain leadership is here and can be relied upon," the audit said.
Despite the criticism levied at the city in the $98,000 audit done by San Jose, Calif.-based Management Partners, not everyone is taking it at face value.
Councilman William Robinson, who has served on the council since 1983, said he does not agree that North Las Vegas is acting like a small city. Over the past two decades, Robinson added, he has seen a lot of consultants' reports.
"They always tell you what you need," Robinson said. "That's what you are paying for."
While the city faces many challenges and improvements need to be made, it comes down to money, Robinson said. With the city already having one of the state's highest tax rates, Robinson said he will not ask residents to pay for it.
North Las Vegas, which has the equivalent of 1,700 full-time employees, has more employees per 1,000 people than Henderson, which employs more than 2,100 employees in a city of 247,000. But the report said because many employees work 36 hours a week, productivity is lower than in other cities. The city projects it will need 997 more employees in five years and an additional 2,757 in the next 20 years.
North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon said the city commissioned the audit knowing it needed to improve to cope with the growth. But he said he did not realize the audit would suggest so much improvement is needed.
The city's continued growth, though, also will put increased demands for better service on City Hall. Now about the 160th biggest city in the country, North Las Vegas is soon be in the top 100, he said.
"Now is the time you have to start acting like it," Montandon said.
As with any audit, it has to be taken "with a grain of salt" because the consultants get paid to find problems, Montandon said.
"They didn't find anything that was too bad, but there is no way we could implement all of their recommendations," Montandon said.
"One of the things emphasized that we need to look at carefully is putting more emphasis on growth. One of the problems in doing that is (we become dependent on growth). You need a safety valve if growth is not there."
The majority of the work done by departments is related to the community's growth and development, the audit said. The danger exists that those external pressures and demands are directing the city's day-to-day activities, when the opposite should be the case, it said.
"The city government must be in the driver's seat rather than swept along with the rising tide of development," the audit said.
Rose, who praised the audit for its thoroughness in finding areas in which the city can improve, admits there has been a lag between the community's growth and the city's ability to operate as a larger city. He plans to present a number of the recommendations to the council.
Sharon Powers, president of the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, said she believes the city is doing a good job. But she said that no business or organization could keep up with such fast-paced growth over a short period, adding that improvements are needed to serve the business community and residents.
In addition to Friday hours, the report also called for the creation of a Development Services Department and creation of a one-stop shop or permitting center to serve business and development. The business community has complained about the lack of centralized services for licenses, utilities and other services.
Brian Wargo can be reached at 259-4011 or at [email protected].
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