Henderson’s $269.9M budget would add 37 employees, fire station
Henderson city officials are set to hire 37 full-time employees and start planning for a new fire station, according to a $269.9 million tentative budget for 2018-19.
The fire station would be in east Henderson’s District 81, one of the busiest, with 4,567 calls for service in 2017, according to city spokeswoman Kathleen Richards. The Henderson Fire Department recently received a $2.3 million federal grant to help the city build the new station.
Additionally, one of Henderson’s oldest fire stations, No. 83, would be expanded by fall. Six firefighters-paramedics would be hired as part of expansion.
According to the proposed budget, unveiled at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Henderson expects to bring in $72.1 million in property taxes for fiscal year 2019, a 7.1 percent increase from 2018.
Consolidated taxes are expected to produce $116 million, a 5.75 percent increase from 2018. The city should also see additional revenue from recreational marijuana by the end of the month.
The bulk of the budget, more than 57 percent, would go toward public safety.
The Henderson Police Department would hire eight new corrections officers. The city is also prepared to set aside an estimated $600,000 a year to fund state-mandated body cameras for officers. The law takes effect July 1.
The Public Works, Parks and Recreation Department would hire eight more employees to help run the city’s 64 parks, which include more than 180 miles of trails.
Money also will be used to hire positions in several other departments, including finance, information technology, community development, water and sewer, engineering and development services.
“While the economy is recovering, we have not fully recovered to pre-recession levels,” finance director Jim McIntosh said. “Requests exceed available resources, so we must strategically allocate additional resources.”
Also at the meeting, the City Council ratified Stephanie Garcia-Vause as assistant city manager. She takes over for Greg Blackburn, who left last month.
Fiscal year 2019 starts July 1. A public comment session regarding the budget is set for the City Council meeting at 6 p.m. May 15.
To view the proposed budget, visit www.reviewjournal.com/hendobudget.
Contact Sandy Lopez at slopez@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4686. Follow @JournalismSandy on Twitter.
