Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

County fire inspectors warned of possible layoffs from building slowdown

Early Tuesday morning, Clark County Fire Department administrators met with about 50 employees in the County Commission chambers, many of them inspectors, to say layoffs may be coming and that a counselor will be available for people to talk to about it.

The potential for cuts comes as the Fire Department experiences a large decline in demand for fire inspectors, who enforce building codes in the construction of homes and businesses. Construction has fallen off dramatically since the building boom of the mid-2000s, so inspectors’ workloads have dropped.

But it’s not just inspectors who are being hit. The county’s Department of Development Services, also integral in the approval of construction plans, has seen a decline in employees of over 50 percent in the last few years.

Inspection fees and tax revenues pay for inspectors‚ salaries and benefits. But the difference between fee collections and expenses stands at more than $6 million.

In fiscal year 2010, inspectors collected $4.2 million in fees but cost the department $10.7 million. In fiscal year 2009, the difference was slightly higher: collected fees totaled about $3 million but inspectors cost the county $10 million.

Sources said the Tuesday meeting was informative and that no details about any layoffs have been worked out. The county is working out its 2011-12 budget, which goes into effect July 1.

Firefighters would not be laid off, sources said.

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