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StumbleHorrible county budget outlook worsens, tough decisions loom
$200 million shortfall predicted; unions must brace for pay, job cuts
Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 | 2 a.m.
Tom Collins
Steve Sisolak
Sun Archives
- County takes no action on priority panel’s suggestions (1-19-2010)
- Town hall on budget shows which side is which (1-14-2010)
- Committee on priorities: Lose UMC, make fire department cuts (1-7-2010)
- Clark County cost-cutting ideas center on salaries (12-30-2009)
- Clark County priorities panel meeting in Las Vegas (12-16-2009)
- ‘Longevity pay’ costs millions in county (12-10-2009)
- UMC’s financial condition spurs talk of sale (11-27-2009)
- Layoffs should hit poorly run departments, Collin says (10-4-2009)
- Experts to advice, provide cover, on cuts (8-30-2009)
- Shortfall looms large as fire union holds out (4-23-2009)
- No concessions yet from firefighters (4-12-2009)
A new financial forecast for Clark County will likely make it all but impossible for its employee unions to avoid this unwelcome choice in the coming weeks — salary cuts or job cuts.
As they prepare to begin renegotiating labor contracts in a few weeks, Clark County commissioners learned Tuesday that next year’s budget deficit could reach $200 million — much higher than the $126 million predicted earlier.
George Stevens, the county’s chief financial officer, told commissioners that consolidated tax revenue fell $28 million, or 20 percent, in the first three months of the fiscal year compared with the same period in the previous year, and that commercial property tax revenue is expected to decline. The fiscal year began July 1.
Based on an average cost of $90,000 in salary and benefits per county employee, the looming deficit would equal roughly 2,200 jobs.
Because 65 percent of the county’s general fund budget of $1.2 billion goes toward salaries and benefits, jobs and pay will have big targets on them in the coming months. More so because county cost-cutting measures that have been taking place for almost two years have eliminated many expenses outside of labor costs — things like newspaper subscriptions and shuttle bus operations. In addition, an estimated 950 positions within University Medical Center and other county departments have been left unfilled.
As a result, there isn’t much left to cut outside of jobs and salaries. The $200 million deficit could become the most significant figure in the debate over county finances, as employee unions posture in an effort to minimize the damage to their members.
Stevens’ report came a few hours after more than 100 county firefighters, clad in yellow T-shirts — the same color as the department’s familiar fire engines — filled the Clark County Commission chambers. They said nothing — didn’t have the opportunity, in fact, because it wasn’t a public hearing — as the commission accepted a list of recommendations from the Committee on Community Priorities, a citizen committee established by Commission Chairman Rory Reid to prioritize county services.
Among the committee’s recommendations for saving money: cutting the Fire Department budget, including its paramedic service.
With the firefighters present, Commissioner Tom Collins launched into a lengthy defense of public services.
Other commissioners made briefer statements, saving their comments for upcoming meetings when county staff will examine the community committee’s top recommendations and return with cost-benefit analyses and other evaluations.
After the meeting, Commissioner Steve Sisolak repeated the figure “$200 million” in astonishment.
Sisolak has spoken most openly about the looming cuts. A few weeks ago, he decried the average firefighter compensation, which including overtime and benefits totals about $200,000 annually. He has also said he wants to get rid of longevity pay, a salary perk that cost Clark County $44 million last year.
Though he expressed some reservations about how politics might play into commissioners’ decisions — some of their comments, he said, sounded like “posturing” — Sisolak said commissioners’ positions will be largely determined by the enormity of the budget shortfall they are about to face.
“There will be some very difficult decisions that, unfortunately, will have to be made,” Sisolak said.
Standing up for his estimated 9,500 members, Service Employees International Union President Al Martinez blamed Wall Street for the country’s financial mess, adding that public employees nationwide are being portrayed as “the cause of the meltdown.”
Whatever the source of the county’s financial problems, the fortunes of its employees were partly decided when commissioners went into a closed session. There they discussed what strategies they wanted to take as they head into union negotiations, which begin in a few weeks.
After that closed meeting, Reid was asked whether commissioners remain as committed to cutting as they appeared to be two weeks ago, when they voted 5-2 to support his motion to look at privatizing or transferring UMC to another entity and seek more concessions from unions.
“The policy this board adopted just two weeks ago in a public meeting was to fundamentally change how we do business at UMC and to lower labor costs, and I don’t see that changing,” he said.
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Rory Reid and the other commissioners put their heads in the sand and ignored the reality facing Las Vegas. By allowing the out of control spending to continue to placate their public employee unions they delivered this perfect storm for disaster.
It is time to toss them all as the economics are not that hard to understand. You cannot spend your way to prosperity, either in Washington or in Las Vegas.
$90k >average!< salary. No wonder they are in a world of do-do. Plus $600k fire fighters ;-)
and we think Rory would be a good Gov. because......?????
Rory Reid has overseen and approved of the pounding of the last nail in Clark Counties coffin, dont let him give the deathblow to the state.
The real story here is the 90,000 per year average salary for county workers taking up 65 percent of the total budget.
And on top of that commissioners spend top dollar ( that's our money ) on everything they do.
I wonder how many millions were spent on goofball studies that hit the round file soon after completion. Their only purpose being a smoke screen for elected officials to hide behind rather then make the decisions we elected them to make.
Is Sisolak accusing his fellow commissioners of being corrupt politicans? Why would he make a statement like that? How insulting...
Here's a budget cut suggestion -- ground the COPters for all but exigent use. I'm tired of their low flying rattling my humble abode. A friend in Summerlin also complained they like to spotlight her backyard in the middle of the night after she made a formal complaint about the conduct of two officers.
LOL! Gried Jr. thinks his "performance" makes him worthy to be gubber. Pathetic that the Dummocrats and unions own the "Detroit of the Desert".
Awww Grandmacrabby is your golden egg threatened? It's time to fire them all and start anew. You don't go into public service to get rich unless your a greedy crook! I get a kick out of how firefighters shouldn't have to do with less, but everyone else should.
This is insane!
Rory Reid wants to be governor and he has contributed to the debt levels of the county during his tenure?
Imagine what he will do to the state if he did this to the county?
NO WAY IN HELL SHOULD THIS DEMOCRAT EVER BE ELECTED EVER AGAIN HERE IN NEVADA FOR ANY ELECTED OFFICE!!!! WE CAN'T AFFORD THIS!!!
Also, why aren't the Clark County Commissioners taking a pay cut, while they try to cut others salaries? This is abit strange isn't it?
But it goes to show you how corrupt the 7 demorats are who sit on the commission currently!
For instance should not Rory Reid "resign to run" for the office of governor? Why should we pay him a full time salary for what is part time work for him?
Also, let's look at the vice chair, Susan Brager (D) who is a licensed real estate agent who has profited immensely off of the votes she rendered on the commission for home development!!
She received hundreds of thousands of dollars in commissions from new home sales and other sales of business for all the votes she rendered, not to mention, she benefited her employer and the employer's other 16 real estate agents and the entire real estate industry here in Clark County!
Also, she was convicted of an ethics violation and fined by the state! However, she told the state she did not have the money to pay the fine of which was legally accessed to her and did not pay it!
But just about two weeks ago, she voted to impose heavy fines on the citizenship for not sterilizing their pets! Is she going to allow them to not pay their fines now like her?
In the District F race, we have an Independent American Party of Nevada running. The individual is a military careerist who served 23 years on active duty, is a veteran of the Viet Nam and Persian Gulf wars, is a service connected disabled veteran with a 100% rating, a small business owner and a proven government employee, as well as an ex-Immigration officer who opposes illegal aliens getting services from Clark County at taxpayer expense!
He is also an ex-federal Inspector General, whose job it was to ferret out Fraud, Waste and Abuse of taxpayer funds and he was very, very, very successful in this endeavor, as many who lost their jobs and careers over can attest to when he discovered their theft of government funds and the corruption of their's!
I am never ever going to render another vote for any demorat in the Clark County government and I am not voting for any Republican, they are the same!
I am voting for the Independent American Party of Nevada candidates only!! They are citizens in our midst with a great deal of skills and abilities and it is time to tap that now!
WE THE VOTERS AND TAXPAYERS OF THIS STATE ARE GOING TO FIRE EVERYONE AND START ALL OVER SO GET READY STATE WORKERS FOR THE UNEMPLOYMENT LINES. UNIONS YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE DISSOLVED INTO THE DESERT SAND.
environprotector, please. Do not act like you have anything more than you have. 1 vote, 0 clues.
And stop screaming.
Everyone else is having to do more with less. It's past time the County stepped up to the plate. I really don't want to see people lose their jobs, hopefully the unions will get out of the way and let their membership make the call.
$200,000 a year for a job that requires a GED and a physical? Good God. Please justify why a firefighter should be paid more than $60,000 a year. What nonsense.
County workers make too much anyway.
People who are vested in 'the system' are categorically incapable of controlling OT spending.
No overtime period.
All staffing levels including the fire department may have to be cut. That means if you have a 6 man/woman fire/paramedic crew, it drops to 5 if someone calls off. Unforunately people will have to wait. Southwest and
AMR Ambulance Services can ramp up there EMS services to counter the lower County EMS staffing level. ISO levels will go up, but in this serious financial crisis you just have to let some things go. You can always apply to get that back once things level out. Based on the actions of the County Fire Department I would not support raises, equipment, ect. Zero appreciation for what they have.
Forget the overtime for now but all city and state workers should be brought down to the pay grades of the private sector.
We need our politicians to grow a pair! I know that it is unpopular to cut but Nevada needs it now. Unions are making it more difficult than it has to be. The city is doing badly, you need to make less or you need to loss you job.
The golden eggs are great but don't kill the goose or that means no more eggs.
The sooner the City(ies) and County merge and consolidate services, the sooner the healing can begin. The economy is not coming back any time soon. Take out your 1997 budget and re-instate it - that's the reality.
rejco :
Sand is a great absorbent as well...
Fire Fighters have looted this place dry.
They should call property tax fire fighters enrichment fund.
the commissioners knew this was going on for over a year when bush started to bailout wall street and did nothing. not one spoke up about this budget crisis until NOW! where did the voters find these morons? who are the morons that thought these people were qualified? vote every last one of them out next election.
I thought La Bama was gonna save us all.
With less people coming to Las Vegas they should be able to cut in several places.
Even though AMR/Medicwest Ambulances do not take a dime from the city/county ( however, they do pay thousands of $$$ in fines and the privilage to do business with the city/county) they are having to take a hit too with this economy. Hiring freeze has been in effect, running with a skeleton crew. They are doing a good job with 'emergencies' with absolutly no talk of layoffs of their workers. Whether your a city/county FF or a private ambulance worker, our patches say the same thing as well as our protocols for treatment. So let the privates run the EMS calls and let the FD run the fire calls and the inspections. When its crunch time, sometimes you cant make everyone happy.
rrlv1,
I've seen AMR services provided versus those of firefighter paramedics and heard plenty of stories. No comparison in level of care provided. The fines are a direct result of AMR NOT meeting the level of standards set for them - it has nothing to do with the so-called "privilege" to do business here. I'll take the firefighters when it comes to emergency services.
Well tough times are here...If the unions not just the firefighters get realistic soon the they need to pull a Reagan and replacem all...that is all county workers, one department at a time
get_it_right,
'Level of Care' is governed by the Southern Nevada Health District which every dept. in Clark County has to go by, so, they are all at the same 'Level of Care'. You must have meant to say 'Level of Quality care provided'. We will let the ER docs chime in on that one!!
I think firemen care more about their Starbucks coffee than they do about the public welfare.
Lets face it people.......in the rest of the real world, firefighters DO NOT make over 75,000. Overtime is a bonus, not a requirement. Firefighters in Las Vegas, NLV, and Henderson are overpaid, underworked, play Wii and Playstation all day, and cry about their jobs. Their EMS skills are far less than acceptable. We can save MILLIONS getting rid of the ridiculously large unnecessary ambulances they waste diesel driving, cut overtime, lay off the riduculous amount of Firefighters we pay for NOTHING, and allow the privates to do the tremendous job they have done for SEVERAL years. As far as I am concerned, they and their corny Firefighter plates should receive a very well needed reality check.
OH......By the way........How nice of Las Vegas Metro Police to GIVE UP their raises this year to help the budget crisis. I wouldn't want the poor little firerighters who make 2-3 times as much to volunteer to give up their raises. What would the impact be if we had less Firefighters? Lets face it....how many fires do we have -vs- how many people get hurt in a fire......SLIM TO NONE. More people require Police daily then Firefighters......HOW NICE that the Police gave something up and Fire didn't. WE WOULDN'T WANT THE PANSIES to forfeit anything now would we. I would probably give up my FF plates........might cause a problem for you.......