North Las Vegas council OKs $601M budget for 2018-19 fiscal year

The annual spending plan, approved 4-0 by the City Council on Wednesday, marks the second consecutive year that city officials are attempting to restore “critical” jobs and services that were lost during the recession. Mayor John Lee was absent from the meeting.

“This is a budget that really reflects the needs of our institution,” City Manager Ryann Juden told the City Council during a presentation.

“It reflects places where we need to grow,” Juden said. “By no stretch of the imagination does it adequately satisfy all the demands that we have because of our lower staffing levels, but it’s a movement in the right direction.”

North Las Vegas’ general fund of $139.4 million will pay for day-to-day expenses for the fiscal year that begins July 1, with 65.5 percent allocated toward the police and fire departments. City Hall costs, public works, recreation and judicial funds are included in the general fund.

Under the hiring plan approved Wednesday, the North Las Vegas Police Department will get five new officers, two sergeants and a captain, while most other departments will get one additional employee, Finance Director Cori Knauss told the City Council.

“This is incredibly encouraging that we have the ability to add staff in these critical areas,” Councilman Scott Black said. “That’s an indication of the hard work that’s gone into all of the departments to be able to do this.”

The city is projected to generate $139.5 million in revenue, with most of the money coming from consolidated taxes, licenses and permit fees.

To keep the budget balanced, the city will transfer $5 million from the utility enterprise fund to the general fund. The city is trying to reduce its reliance on that fund by roughly 3 percent annually under a plan approved last year by the state Legislature.

The city’s Redevelopment Agency was allocated $4 million for projects primarily aimed at sprucing up the downtown area, while the North Las Vegas Library District has a $4.7 million budget.

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @AMarroquin_LV on Twitter.