Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Henderson:

Henderson expects continued fall in consolidated tax revenue until late 2010

Consolidated tax revenue — on the decline for more than two years — is expected to level off late next year and start to increase slightly by December 2010, Henderson Finance Director Steve Hanson said.

Consolidated tax is made up of mainly consumer taxes, which include sales, cigarette and liquor taxes. The county divides those taxes collected among local municipalities, based on population and sales receipts.

It represents about 45 percent of Henderson’s general fund.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Hanson gave an overview of the city’s financial status. He projected lower consolidated tax revenues in July and August of 2010, compared to the same months in previous years, but he said those numbers will steadily improve.

By November 2010, Hanson said, he hopes the falling revenue trend will level off, followed by a 1 percent increase in December 2010.

“I think we’re going to stabilize on a conservative basis,” he said. “If the economy does bounce back, I think those projections will turn out to be better.”

Revenue from property taxes is expected to decline through 2011, he said.

To cope with shrinking revenue, the city has instituted a hiring freeze, reduced departmental budgets by 10 percent, with the exception of public safety, cut annual cost-of-living increases for most city employees, instituted an early retirement program and put many construction projects on hold.

“All of those factors offset in any reduction in consolidated tax so far,” Hanson said.

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