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Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010 | 8:08 p.m.
Sun Coverage
Sun archives
- North Las Vegas City Council votes to cut jobs at detention center (10-6-2010)
- Committee says North Las Vegas employee salaries ‘out of whack’ (10-6-2010)
- North Las Vegas shifts money for more school crossing guards (10-6-2010)
- NLV City Council caught off guard by budget survey (9-24-2010)
- North Las Vegas to cut jobs as feds shift inmates to new facility (9-21-2010)
- NLV adds code enforcement fees to prop up budget (8-18-2010)
- North Las Vegas sees more budget cuts coming (7-21-2010)
North Las Vegas officials announced a proposal Wednesday night to eliminate 251 full-time jobs over the next two fiscal years, including 33 firefighters and 93 positions at the police department.
The proposal, which was presented by Acting City Manager Maryann Ustick, included a 15 percent reduction in jobs across the city’s fire and police departments — groups that, until recently, had escaped the chopping block.
If the proposal is adopted, 27 police officer positions paid by the city would be cut, although the city recently received a federal grant to retain 16 of those 27.
Altogether, 93 full-time positions — 18 of which are vacant — within the police department would be cut, saving the city about $9.1 million.
The cuts will make the code enforcement team “reactionary” to citizen complaints rather than “proactive” because there won’t be enough officers available to look for infractions, Ustick said.
As Ustick announced that 33 firefighters would likely lose their jobs if no further concessions are made by their union, a loud crack of thunder boomed outside the council chambers.
“I don’t think the fire chief arranged for that,” Ustick said.
Public Works also would shed employees, including 30 Teamsters. Eight other positions iwould be left vacant, saving the city about $4.2 million.
The impact of the reductions would likely be noticed around the city, Ustick said. For example, it used to take the city 24 hours to repair damage to streetlights. As the result of cuts already made, it now takes seven days.
Ustick said the finance department could see a reduction of six positions, including two that already are vacant, cutting the department to the bone. “We can’t go below this level,” she said.
This fiscal year — July 1 to June 30 — the city must reduce its budget by about $10 million. Before June 2012, the city will have to cut about $35.1 million from its budget.
Each year, the city is required to present a balanced budget to the state.
Other proposed cuts to the budget included reductions in service, leaving open vacant positions and consolidating city departments, such as the city clerk and city manager’s offices.
Wednesday’s 4:30 p.m. special City Council meeting lasted about an hour — cut short by a power outage.
During that time, the council heard from Ustick and Acting Finance Director Al Noyola about the city’s budget problems and possible solutions.
Dozens of members of the Teamsters Union attended the meeting but did not have a chance to speak before the power outage. Many of the layoffs proposed Wednesday night were for Teamster-held positions.
The city laid off 188 city employees in June to cut costs. None of those positions were in public safety.
The city is in ongoing talks with the Teamsters, firefighters and police unions about where budget cuts can be made to avoid layoffs. Items on the regular City Council agenda were deferred to the Nov. 3 meeting.
"Public Works also would shed employees, including 30 Teamsters. Eight other positions iwould be left vacant, saving the city about $4.2 million."
Wow - do that math! That's almost $150,000 each.
NRS-288 *must* be changed to remove the requirement to recognize collective bargaining groups. Get rid of public sector unions. Pay cuts, as hard as they are to accept, are better than loss of services and more people adding to the rolls of the unemployment, taking even MORE resources we don't have.
Hmm, North Las Vegas can let 33 firefighters go without jeopardizing public safety, but Clark County and the City of Las Vegas can't.
I tip my hat to the North Las Vegas city council. Of course their mayor is a FF kiss ass. Remember that folks at the next election.
Yes, all of us can Union Bash but it's not completely the Unions' fault. The problem arrives when the Politicians agree to Union demands in bargainning. When the economy was roaring, the Politicians agreed to anything because that gave them votes. Now, the economy is bad and the ax must fall. You should blame the State Legislature at the same time for creating Nevada Revised Statute (NRS)288.150 which mandates that local governments must bargain with Unions including Teachers' Unions. If you want change, tell your representatives to either ammend NRS 288.150 so that local governments don't have to bargain for pay and benefits or rescind the statute altogether. Then hide and watch what they do. I'll bet they do nothing.
I thought the stimulus money was suppose to avoid this from occurring...
Are you listening, City of Henderson? You're paying for firemen to work out at Health Clubs, driving the giant trucks to Pollo Loco for lunch, etc. Showing up at house fires to spray the already burned out structures.
Look, it's not like we have high rise buildings. We are a bedroom community. So lay off the Union loafers if they can't take cuts in their huge pay packages. If not, we will lay YOU off, Hafen and Blondie.
Do it now.
The Democrats said the recession is over.
You never heard boo from the private sector employees regarding public sector workers because they enjoyed better pay, possible stock options and other company perks and there was always a sense that the private sector offered better chances for advancement, head hunters getting them lucrative packages to switch companies, etc..
It wasn't until the entire economy went to hell that the private sector employees started complaining about the public sector guys "bloated" pensions, pay, etc..
I'm reminded of the real estate agents now complaining about making little or no money, yet you didn't hear boo from them when some of their incomes went from 50k to 300k in a matter of 2 years.
Both sides of the aisle (public and private) for too long enjoyed nice perks. The private sectors imploded.. I guess now it's time to go after the public guy.
"Change you can believe in"
Mark Trexler...You said "Yes, all of us can Union Bash but it's not completely the Unions' fault. The problem arrives when the Politicians agree to Union demands in bargainning. When the economy was roaring, the Politicians agreed to anything because that gave them votes. Now, the economy is bad and the ax must fall. You should blame the State Legislature at the same time for creating Nevada Revised Statute (NRS)288.150 which mandates that local governments must bargain with Unions including Teachers' Unions. If you want change, tell your representatives to either ammend NRS 288.150 so that local governments don't have to bargain for pay and benefits or rescind the statute altogether. Then hide and watch what they do. I'll bet they do nothing."
You make the same argument that the boy did when after killing his parents he asked for mercy because he was an orphan.
This is what happens when you have Teamsters who are raised in Tonapah and the like. You can not be a Teamster if you do not have a clue what a teamster is, and are in the managers and directors office cleaning under their desk.
Have'nt heard anything about the 130 million dollar city hall that the council approved and started construction on last year. Apparently the council can't find any money for cops and firefighters but can for new offices for themselves
I wonder when the economy picks up what will people think where did there service go to.
Isn't this exactly what the teabaggers have been advocating - smaller government?
Well, it's about time!
There are way too many police cars patrolling (wasting fuel) in NLV. Sure the donut shops are happy...
And all these overpaid firemen stop traffic with those big, ugly firetrucks, every time they cross intersections.
What's the big hurry? The fire will still be burning, when they get there! Geez!
And hey! Don't even get me started on all the noise from those sirens and bullhorns!
Yep. A little at a time...things are getting better. You go, North Las Vegas!!!
Las Vegas used to be a nice play to work and live..No More!
Wow, boftx is against collective bargaining? Shocker, since boftx is against any type of government employment that would allow a Nevada citizen to feed their family while serving their fellow citizen.
Typical Republican Race to the Bottom social engineering. Everyone and everything in Nevada needs to be of the least quality so big business can rape our state over and over without even paying what should have been their fair share of taxes BEFORE the economy went down under President Bush. Less safety, less security, lower quality of life, no benefits for private or public employees, and more union bashing. Perfect cocktail for social unrest-that's what the Republicans are baking in the oven for America while their own party is about to go to war with itself after 11/2/10.
Makes me sick how some people are just swallowing the lies that the Republicans are dishing out and then regurgitating it like its fact. Next thing they'll do is agree with Angle that abortion causes breast cancer. Bunch'a nuts.
I am against public sector collective bargaining. I've always said that unions are a legitimate part of the private sector.
Governments need to be able to respond to economic conditions quickly, and the public unions don't allow that.
Just look at this story, instead of making pay cuts, they are laying people off. This reduces services, effectively raising the price that we, the taxpayers pay as individuals for those remaining. The people who are laid off go on unemployment, and probably require social services, which are already underfunded, and that makes the budget problems even worse.
Traditionally, the public sector offered better benefits at a lower wage and job security when compared to the private sector. But over time, thanks to public unions, the pay rates exceed those of the private sector and benefits were better still. So now, when times got tough, we all got hit harder than necessary.
It's very simple, as a taxpayer I want to receive fair value for what I pay. Public unions don't deliver that.
To Bruce Carper," KARMA" will visit you very soon!.
Harry Reid said the recession was over and we were basting in the summer of recovery...
There are way too many police cars patrolling (wasting fuel) in NLV. Sure the donut shops are happy...
And all these overpaid firemen stop traffic with those big, ugly firetrucks, every time they cross intersections.
What's the big hurry? The fire will still be burning, when they get there! Geez!
And hey! Don't even get me started on all the noise from those sirens and bullhorns!
Yep. A little at a time...things are getting better. You go, North Las Vegas!!!
********
architect aka Bruce:
Is your post for real? Or are you being facetious? If it is for real - what an idiot you are. Hope you never need the services of the fire department. Your house deserves to burn down so the fire trucks don't have to block traffic or use their sirens to get there in time.
boftx... Your just like the majority of the people who are pissed and angry about everything here in Vegas. From your bio you have only "been" in Vegas (notice I didn't say "lived") for about 2 years and have complained about EVERYTHING the city is built on or is about. How about you go back back to wherever you came from if this town, my home for the past 32 years, is so horrible and screwed up. Earn the right to complain!!!
babyshaker,
One of the reasons that our grown children moved here quite a few years before us was that Nevada, and Las Vegas in particular, offered the environment and ideas that we find attractive. We followed them here to also enjoy what they had found.
What I am complaining about is that some of those values that we enjoy so much have been lost sight of. I am a firm believer in allowing people to live their lives with as little interference from others, especially the government, as possible. I want to see Nevada return to and expand that attitude as much as possible. When no other state would even consider gambling Nevada was there with open arms. Same with prostitution.
Nevada should continue that tradition with legalized pot.
No, what I complain about is how Nevada is adopting the values of other states that they have always in the past said were wrong.
boftx,
There is no need to explain yourself. Your points are valid.
Put together a petition to repeal NRS-288.
Lets get signatures and get it done.
Skipping all the name calling & insults, I'd like to throw out a suggestion.
I think a lot of money can be saved by doing what the City of Las Vegas & Clark County did years ago. Merge NLV & Henderson PDs with the LV Metro PD. The same can be done with the ridiculously individual FDs. Merge the Las Vegas City FD, NLV City FD & Henderson FD with the Clark County FD.
In both consolidations duplication of services could be eliminated & we would wind up with one efficient PD & one efficient FD. We don't need parochial departments. The same can be done with other governmental agencies in the valley, such as separate jail facilities, courts, motor pools, etc. Most governmental agencies can be consolidated into one county agency, eliminating the need to pay separate city & county taxes. This valley isn't too big area-wise & population-wise to preclude these consolidations.
Private companies are doing similar departmental consolidations across different locations of the same corporation. One of the results has been elimination of duplication of services resulting in tremendous cost savings. I don't see why it wouldn't work with our government departments.
These consolidations obviously couldn't be completed any time soon. However they can be planned & implemented before the 2012 elections.
I've been reading these comments on our local governments for many months now & honestly believe that this is a workable solution, as opposed to firing all Firefighters & other, much needed, experienced government employees.
We need to stop all the hate & other vitriol & come up with real, workable, common sense solutions.
dabosscr,
Your idea has merit, but the presence of public unions means that all of us would be stuck with a bad contract instead of just the county. NLV has generally been better at negotiations than Clark County has been.
Explanation of architect blog:
When you start treating protective services, as commodities and community options, it's time to re-evaluate the circumstances.
How can anyone know a word like "facetious" and not see it in action, as a conceptual tool.
I guess you've bloggers AND cloggers.
boftx,
Let's assume that NRS-288 is eliminated. Then what? Other than allowing municipalities the freedom to completely dictate working conditions and wages. How do you see this notion play out? Traditionally, private workers are paid more, but are more mobile. They follow the money. Public workers are paid less (base), but provide long term experienced personell. When Municipalities are allowed to balance the budget on the backs of workers, do you think that they will stop at a fair level? No, they will waste money on unnecessary projects, and fill gaps with funds ment for wages. You will not be able to keep good people or retain good people. What level of community will you get when you don't even have proper public safety. So without collective bargaining, all contracts will be stuck in the picket line and courtrooms, meanwhile services to the community will suffer. You've already said that you wish government was smaller so you could live with as little government interaction as possible, but you're retired. Many other people in this community would like to see the community prosper. Governemnt isn't always bad, sometimes it provides services that benefit many and strengthen a community.
Oh wait I know what comes next...
"But look at these outrageous salaries!!!"...
In many cases it's simply a case of doing more with less. Many government leaders have stated that base pay for local public workers are fair. Many of the total compensations that get reported on include assumptions about benefits, insurance, base salary and overtime. If our governments hired enough personell they wouldn't need to pay overtime. Which would keep an individual's total compensation down.
Did you know that before all the layoffs in the last 18 months or so Nevada had the lowest number of public workers....
Here's an article from your beloved LV Sun...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/mar...
Nevada has the fewest workers, fewer workers mean more work per employee, which sometimes means OT, which means... Doing more work with less people.
Here's where someone says...
"Public worker compensation has gotten completely out of line compared to they're private couterparts"...
Before you parrot ideas spoon fed to you by the media and political operatives do a little research...
Here's a report that compared public and private pay over the last 20 years...
http://www.nirsonline.org/index.php?opti...
Or how about this report from the Economic Policy Institute about overcompensated public employees...
http://www.epi.org/page/-/pdf/bp276.pdf
Hi Buddy,
Good to see you posting again. By the way, I am not retired, and I doubt I will ever be able to be such.
I understand your position, but please try to understand mine as a taxpayer. Instead of being able to cut costs by reducing pay, our only choice to cut personnel, which reduces service levels, and effectively increases the cost of the services we do retain.
There has to be a happy medium somewhere.
I'm going to take the links you offered with a grain of salt for now. You know that I try to be reasonable. But it really does seem that rather than do what was good for both the community and for the members, the unions decided to keep as much as possible and hurt both. At least the City of Las Vegas unions agreed to some cutbacks in order to keep as many members as possible working.
I had my own business for 25 years. Once you over hire over spend you belly up. Since it was my time, hours and investment I had to watch every penny. Not one time did my employees dictate their wage. Then again I wasn't raising my prices like local goverment was raising taxes. Now it is the time to balance the budget. The largest one expence is employees and their benefits. Period. Sad but true.
Boftx,
I know you're reasonable. But it's true, Nevada has the one of the lowest number of public employees in the country. More work done by fewer workers. How many have been laid off since that article? Are the remaining employees thanked for being so efficient? Nope, they're vilified for doing the work of multiple employees.
You assume that during negotiations, the unions tried to keep as much as they could. Maybe, the unions offered serious concessions, but management's counter offers were so ridiculous that even they would be embarrassed to talk about them in a public forum. But back to my real question... I've seen you post numerous times about 288. Have you thought out the whole process? I'm curious what you expect to happen if 288 we're eliminated. Do you think the employees would be treated fairly? How many hours do you think teachers would be forced to work? Do you think they would drive salaries down? We're already having a problem attracting and retaining quality teachers. Do you think that would improve if management could dictate working conditions and wages versus bargain for them in a fair forum?
How deep into services are you willing to accept? Maybe it's time the private sector helps out? According to the Tax Foundation, Nevada is currently the 4th most favorable state in the union for business taxes.
Here's the data...
http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/sho...
On an article yesterday an unverified poster using the name "Teamster" took a shot at me for commenting on my salary being lower this year while health insurance costs substantially increased. Teamster told me to "Live better, work union". Teamster, If you're reading this, I sincerely hope you are not one of the group of 30 in the article. Consolidating departments is smart. It's a way to eliminate some high paid management positions.
Good let's cut the fat.