LOOKING IN ON: CLARK COUNTY

By Tony Cook (contact)

Saturday, May 19, 2007 | 6:50 a.m.

When Clark County commissioners discussed Republic Services' proposed surcharge this week, the signs did not look good for ratepayers.

Although a 1999 deal between the county and Republic gave the garbage company a 15-year contract extension in exchange for taking full responsibility for complying with Environmental Protection Agency orders to properly close Sunrise Landfill, Republic wants the county to approve a surcharge to help it pay for the work, which is expected to exceed the company's original $36 million estimate.

Instead of dismissing the proposal out of hand, commissioners directed staff to come back with more details about how it might work. Some commissioners apparently think that if the county rejects the fee increase and Republic stops work on the landfill, the county could be held liable, since both it and Republic are named as responsible parties in the EPA orders.

But the 1999 agreement addressed that: It says that if Republic fails to comply with the orders, the county can do the work and then charge Republic.

Still, the commission's willingness to deal with the issue publicly is an improvement over past commissions.

To get some context before Tuesday's meeting, freshman Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani listened to the tape of the 1999 meeting during which commissioners approved the deal with Republic. She was surprised, not by what she heard, but by what she didn't hear.

"Not one question was asked," she said. "There was no discussion."

Clark County will pass on service cuts at University Medical Center, opting instead to budget for a $41.4 million subsidy next year, nearly three times the amount of past subsidies.

County Manager Virginia Valentine announced that figure during an update to the commission about the UMC budget process Tuesday.

Although the figure sounds high, it might not be if it prevents the kind of multimillion-dollar bailouts seen in recent years.

The difference, theoretically, is that the county is planning for the shortfall, rather than making optimistic projections about revenue and then scrambling at the end of the year to transfer money from other projects to rescue the hospital.

"We used to budget a smaller subsidy and then bail out the hospital," Commission Chairman Rory Reid said. "Now we are planning for a subsidy that might decrease. I think it's more realistic than we have been."

The budget could shrink as UMC administrators and county management continue to consider service cuts over the next two months. Off the chopping block are programs such as the Lions Burn Care Center, the neonatal intensive care unit and the HIV Wellness Center. The county is still considering eliminating several quick care facilities, which could result in the need for a smaller subsidy.

Giunchigliani is well known as a staunch supporter of organized labor. Wal-Mart is well known for being vehemently anti-union. Thus, some in the audience at Tuesday's commission meeting couldn't help but crack smiles when Giunchigliani accepted a $15,000 check from Wal-Mart to pay for free swim lessons at Cambridge Community Center.

Getting up to accept the check, she acknowledged the irony.

"I've taken a lot of teasing because a lot of people know I've never been in a Wal-Mart," she said.