Property values going down, taxes going up

By Jean Reid Norman (contact)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 | 2:28 p.m.

Boulder City residents may have seen their property values go down, but they won’t see their property tax bills follow suit.

With the city facing declines in most of its revenue sources for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1, the City Council voted 3-1 to raise the property tax rate to keep the revenue at the same level as last year. Property valuations for next year in Boulder City have gone down 9.8 percent, according to the Clark County Assessor's Office.

Councilman Travis Chandler voted no, and Councilwoman Linda Strickland was absent.

Boulder City’s property tax rate will go from 21.88 cents to 26 cents per $100 valuation. As a result, property taxes are expected to raise $1.34 million for the city next year.

Property taxes at the current rate of 21.88 cents brought in $1 million this year, $200,000 less than estimated.

“The council asked us to maintain the tax base,” Finance Director Tim Inch said. “This does that.”

Because of property tax abatements put into place in 2006 that limit increases in taxes on homes to 3 percent per year and on commercial property, including rentals, to 8 percent per year, most residents will not see much of an increase in their tax bills, Inch said.

Property taxes are a small part of the $22 million in total revenue the city has budgeted for next year. The largest amount — $8.2 million — is expected from the consolidated tax that comes from the state. Another $4.4 million is expected from leases, and $2.6 million is projected from fees charged for city services such as ambulance, parks and recreation programs and inspections.

The budget includes almost $1 million in cuts in expenses. They include the top 14 city managers forgoing a cost-of-living increase next year and other employees having their annual COLA cut in half.

Ten positions have been eliminated and several more are being left vacant to save money, City Manager Vicki Mayes said. In addition, part-time employees have had their hours cut, and the only part-time employees who will get a raise next year are those making minimum wage, she said. The state’s minimum wage is due to go up to $7.55 per hour in July.

“Existing employees are having to do more with less,” Mayes said.

Even with those reductions, she said, the city will have to reduce its ending fund balance, which serves as a reserve fund, by $783,000.

City officials expect to sign two new leases before July 1 — one with NextLight Renewable Power for a solar power plant in the Eldorado Valley and another with Hangtime Sports for a sports center. Revenue of $450,000 was included in the budget in anticipation of those leases, Inch said.

City Council members asked for two changes to the proposed budget.

Councilwoman Andrea Anderson noted that the Recreation Center gym had ceased offering weekend hours and asked that an extra $5,000 be added to the budget to reopen the gym for 10 hours on weekends, which the council approved.

Council members also decided not to change the personnel director’s position, vacant since Dee Zambetti retired in December, into an assistant city manager position at an increased cost of $12,000 a year.