Budget Cuts 101: LV leaders to be schooled on how business did it

By Dave Toplikar

Monday, May 3, 2010 | 2:47 p.m.

With time running out to make its own budget cuts, Las Vegas City Council will get a real-world lesson Wednesday on how Southern Nevada private and nonprofit sectors have had to deal with cutbacks and layoffs.

The city council will hear from representatives from the Associated General Contractors, Fremont Street Experience, Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors, Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Nevada Resort Association and the Southern Nevada Homebuilders Association.

They will each provide an update on the impact the economic downturn has had on their industry, business or organization. The council meeting begins at 9 a.m. at city hall.

The city council is scheduled to have a final hearing May 18 to develop a budget for the 2011 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The council approved a tentative budget in March that would lay off about 141 city employees and cut programs. The layoffs would save about $38 million as part of cutbacks designed to stave off a $70 million shortfall for the next budget year.

Since that time, the council has been trying to get the four city employees' unions to save those jobs by each agreeing to concessions that include an 8 percent salary cut and no cost-of-living increase, which would save close to $30 million.

However, the city's largest union, the Las Vegas City Employees Association, voted in April not to grant any concessions, according to its chief officer.

Since that time, Mayor Oscar Goodman has told City Manager Betsy Fretwell to move forward to balance the budget without dipping as deeply into city reserves. Goodman said that could result in more than double the layoffs predicted.

Last week, Goodman said the city was still trying to work with the unions and that at least one meeting, with the firefighters union, was to take place this week.