Fire & Rescue study discussion on tap for Las Vegas council

Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013 | 12:25 p.m.

With the Las Vegas City Council convening for its first meeting of the new year on Wednesday, one issue looms large on the agenda. The council will discuss and possibly take action on recommendations from a major study of the fire department that was released in December.

The meeting will begin at 9 a.m., but the firefighter study won’t be discussed until at least 3 p.m. The council meets in its chambers on the second floor of City Hall, 495 S. Main St.

Here are three things to watch for this week in city government:

Fire department a hot topic

The 180-page report on Las Vegas Fire & Rescue contains 23 recommendations for the department, eight of which were listed as “priorities.” The biggest question facing the council is how to handle emergency medical services, which currently are shared by the fire department and a private ambulance service. The report found the arrangement costs the city millions of dollars a year in duplicated effort.

Discipline for unlicensed businesses

The city council will conduct disciplinary hearings Wednesday for the owners of two downtown convenience stores accused of selling stolen goods and operating without the proper licenses.

The owners could face the revocation of the few licenses they did have for their businesses, effectively shutting down their operations.

State of the City

On Thursday, Mayor Carolyn Goodman will deliver her State of the City address in the city council chambers. The speech, which starts at 5 p.m., will be broadcast live on KCLV Channel 2 and streamed on the Internet.