Las Vegas infrastructure, budget outlook take stage for city council

By Conor Shine

Wednesday, April 3, 2013 | 2 a.m.

Las Vegas City Council members will need to bring their calculators with them Wednesday for two in-depth discussions of the city’s financial future.

Council members will hear a presentation on the city’s long-term infrastructure maintenance costs and discuss ways to increase revenues when they gather for their regularly scheduled meeting at 9:15 a.m. at City Hall.

Infrastructure costs add up

Council members delayed discussion on the long-term costs of maintaining the city’s roads, sewers, storm drains, parks and buildings last month when their meeting ran long.

Councilman Bob Coffin, who has been working with staff on the study for the past year, said the city’s infrastructure deserves an in-depth discussion.

“To be done right, to ask the proper questions, we need time,” Coffin said in March.

Expect a lengthy discussion Wednesday on the study, which could shape future budget discussions.

Searching for new revenues

Las Vegas is projected to face a $1 million deficit in its next budget year, the fifth year in a row the city’s finances have been in the red.

Although revenues are expected to grow modestly in the next year, increased funding requests from Metro Police, a demand to restore services cut in previous years and potential employee compensation increases could all put pressure on the budget.

On Wednesday, the council will discuss the upcoming year’s budget, with extra emphasis on finding new sources of revenue to minimize any needed cuts.

Water plant gets $20 million upgrade

The city’s water pollution control facility, 6005 E. Vegas Valley Drive, is in line for nearly $20 million of improvements.

On Wednesday, the council will vote to award the construction contract for the project to Las Vegas-based McCarthy Building Companies Inc. as part of the consent agenda.

The $19.9 million project, which will be paid for out of the sanitation enterprise fund, includes upgrades to the plant’s electrical systems and improvements to the headworks, which help filter pollutants in the incoming water.