Money woes beset Boulder City, shortfall pegged at $1.8 million

By Mike Trask (contact)

Monday, Jan. 12, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Boulder City isn’t immune to the financial woes hitting municipalities across the Las Vegas Valley.

The city announced last week it’s facing a $1.8 million shortfall in this year’s budget.

City officials say they have cut department budgets, left positions vacant and eliminated travel and training budgets.

The city has cut the fire and police department budgets by $100,000 each.

The shortfall was caused by stagnant consolidated tax revenue, which accounts for about one-third of the city’s annual revenue. More than 90 percent of consolidated taxes come from sales tax.

The city’s annual general fund budget is about $24 million.

The city also was forced to raise electric rates to help pay a $26 million bill for the city’s share of a third water-intake pipe at Lake Mead.

The new pipe is needed to ensure the water supply to the region remains sufficient as the lake’s water level continues to drop.

The electric rate hike will cost residents between $7 and $25 per month, depending on the size of a home and utility usage.

The city plans to pay $1.6 million a year for the next two decades. It had also recently raised water and sewer rates to help pay for the intake pipe.

Other suburban cities are having similar budget woes. Neighboring Henderson is facing a $28 million budget shortfall this year and North Las Vegas recently trimmed more than $15 million from its current budget.

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The signs are out.

Mayoral candidates Councilman Stephen Kirk and former Councilwoman Amanda Cyphers have staked out corners in Henderson for their initial wave of campaign signs.

And, longtime Councilman Andy Hafen has said he plans to run for the mayor’s seat, which will become vacant when term limits force Jim Gibson to step down after 12 years.

Signs for Kathleen Boutin, a Ward 3 council candidate, have also popped up. The seat will be open because term limits.

Candidates cannot register for the ballot until Jan. 27. The primary election is April 7.

One person who won’t have any signs is Jack McClary.

The local businessman announced last year he was running for the Ward 3 seat, hired a local campaign consultant and set up a Web site.

However, McClary’s former campaign manger said he decided not to run because the recession forced him to spend more time dealing with his pool maintenance business.

There may be another candidate to face Boutin, the director of the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth.

Former Clark County School Board President Mary Beth Scow said this week that she is considering a run for City Council.

Henderson’s recent financial struggles certainly will be a hot topic during the races.

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The Henderson municipal elections may get a greater turnout than usual this year.

The 2007 primary election drew only 11 percent. The primary settled the council races because two races had only two candidates and Kirk ran unopposed for the third seat.

As dismal as the numbers were, they were up 2 percentage points from 2005.

“We can definitely improve on that,” City Clerk Monica Simmons said.

City officials credit changes made two years ago to allow voters to cast ballots at any one of 15 voting centers for the slightly increased turnout.

The city will use the voting centers this year.

The city also has more voters registered for the city elections this year. More than 47,000 Henderson residents registered to vote during the presidential campaigns, and the city now has about 162,000 registered voters.