Friday, March 21, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
With up to $70 million in unspent bond revenue targeted for road and other transportation improvements, Commissioner Myrna Williams has called for greater accountability of the county's Public Works Department.
Upset that money was available when her constituents are told there's no money for repaving and other road maintenance, Williams said Thursday she wants the department's finances taken out of Public Works Director Marty Manning's hands.
Repeating a recommendation made at the board's retreat in Laughlin two months ago, Williams asked staff Thursday to put an item on the next board agenda making the Finance Department responsible for Public Works and other departmental budgets.
"I'm not suggesting they did anything wrong, but I want it moved back for more accountability," Williams said.
Her comments and motion came during a relatively routine budget conference where commissioners were given a summary of the proposed $530 million budget for 1997-98 that neither raises or lowers property taxes.
Williams also asked for an item on the next board agenda that no contracts be let or funds encumbered until staff reported on exactly how much of the $70 million has been committed and how much is still available for other needs.
Her comments and motions came after Manning gave a presentation showing how most of a $9.5 million surplus in the county's current road maintenance budget was already committed to future road projects.
But Williams had a report prepared on county street and transportation improvement bonds that showed a potential unspent balance of $70 million for which Manning had no explanation.
The surplus is the unspent portion of a $76.4 million street improvement bond issued in 1991, of which all but $19 million was spent; and two transportation bonds issued in 1990 and 1994 totaling $89.75 million, of which $51 million remains.
"The least we know is $19 million remains, but it could be as high as $70 million," Williams said. "The problem is, we don't know what has already been encumbered. I don't want any more contracts being let until we see what is already encumbered."
Williams said she also has asked for copies of the ballot questions approved by voters allowing the county to issue transportation bonds to find out what the public was to expect from the bond proceeds.
Assistant County Manager Randy Walker said he will find out how much of the money has been contracted out, and what amount remains available, and the projects that are scheduled to be built with that money.
Walker also said the Finance Department has already begun to take over the task of running projections and identifying revenue on the beltway project. His understanding was that Williams wants the Finance Department to put together the capital plan for other departments as well.
Public Works has traditionally had a lot more autonomy from Finance than other departments, Walker said.
"Many times a lot of the projections have been done by them as they put their capital plans together, and it really ought to be a joint relationship," Walker said. "You can't have one doing it in a vacuum. Finance can do the revenue projections, but we still need to get the expenditure projections from Public works, then look at the revenue and match them together."
The 1997-98 tentative budget itself had few, if any, surprises. At $530 million, the proposed budget is 1.8 percent higher than the current budget, based on an overall 7 percent revenue increase, Finance Director Rosemary Vassiliadis said.
Sixty percent of the budget is salaries and benefits, she said.
The supplemental package includes 98 new jobs at a cost of $4.4 million, with almost $1 million in new and expanded programs. The ending fund balance is projected at around $53 million, up from the current budget's $51 million.
More than 55 percent of the budget is committed to public safety and criminal justice, with 16 percent -- $86.7 million -- devoted to Metro.
That amount could change based on Metro Sheriff Jerry Keller's request to save $1.5 million by delaying the police academy and training several months. That would lower the county's share by $880,000, Vassiliadis said.
Under the Metro consolidation agreement, the county pays 57 percent of the department's budget and the city of Las Vegas pays 43 percent.
It was the only budget recommendation that drew fire from the commission.
Commissioner Lance Malone, a Metro traffic cop, ripped into the suggestion that budget cuts be made at the expense of public safety.
"We don't have enough police officers on the streets as it is," Malone said.
Commissioner Erin Kenny agreed.
"It concerns me that the sheriff is changing the number of cops on the streets for the sake of cutting the budget," Kenny said. "I think public safety is of primary importance."
Metro plans to hire 165 new officers, Vassiliadis said, with the money for 115 of them coming from a voter-approved tax override. The other 50 are incorporated into Metro's budget request, along with 70 new civilian positions.
The request comes before the Metro Fiscal Affairs Committee next Wednesday.
"I really am concerned about delaying the academy," Williams said, "especially if it takes a year to train somebody and we need more officers on our streets."
archive
