99°F
weather icon Windy

City to put spending initiative on ballot

Boulder City residents will determine if the city can spend as much as $1 million annually from the capital improvement fund to maintain and improve city facilities and infrastructure.

The City Council debated the ballot initiative during its Tuesday night meeting while discussing several capital improvement needs. Residents can vote on the ballot question in the upcoming general election.

The original proposal would have put a five-year limit on spending, but not every council member was on board with a yearly cap.

Councilman Rod Woodbury said the purpose of the capital improvement fund is to cover things such as infrastructure improvements. He emphasized that the ballot question stated the city could only spend money as it becomes available, so it would not be spending money it didn’t have.

“I really don’t see the advantage of hamstringing ourselves to a certain period of five years,” Woodbury said. “I just think this capital improvement fund, by virtue of its name … that’s what it’s for. I would rather see something that’s open-ended.”

Twenty percent of solar lease revenue and 100 percent of land sales make up the capital improvement fund, which pays for Boulder City’s portion of the third intake pipe at Lake Mead. In the November election, voters approved two ballot questions that also would help improve the city’s electrical infrastructure.

One question gave the city the authority to spend as much as $500,000 per year from the capital improvement fund to repair the city’s outdated electrical infrastructure. The money will be spent for the next seven years, as per the ballot question.

Councilman Duncan McCoy said he didn’t see a problem with putting a yearly limit on spending covered in the proposed ballot initiative.

“I don’t see putting a time restriction as hamstringing exactly. I see it more to provide a mechanism for reconsideration over a period of time,” he said. “Over time, needs change, situations change, what we need to spend our money on changes, the amount of money we have available changes, and it’s not a bad thing to reconsider from time to time.”

McCoy said he saw both sides of the argument and agreed that he would be fine with an open-ended arrangement.

City Attorney Dave Olsen, who helped draft the question, said that $1 million would be the most the city could spend on capital improvements during the course of the year. Funds that are not spent cannot be carried over into the next year.

Mayor Roger Tobler emphasized the importance of improving the city’s infrastructure and wanted to make sure that was included in the ballot question.

“That’s going to be one of our challenges down the road,” he said.

Improvements and repairs for city facilities will cost more than $34 million, including the possibility of a new $18 million aquatic center, according to staff reports.

“I just think there’s enough capital needs that could last us a lot longer than even 10 years at this point based on our current budget,” Woodbury said.

The general election is June 2.

The council also reviewed its midyear financial plan during Tuesday’s meeting. According to Finance Director Shirley Hughes, revenue in the general fund is on target. Property, room and consolidated taxes are all ahead of last year’s numbers, but golf course revenue is running behind.

The general fund’s budget projects expenses at a little more than $39 million, and spending to date was at 37 percent. The city also will receive about $10 million in deferred revenue from renegotiated solar leases with Techren Solar and KOMIPO.

About $8.2 million of that will go into the general fund, and about $2 million will go into the capital improvement fund.

Contact reporter Steven Slivka at sslivka@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow @StevenSlivka on Twitter.

MOST READ
THE LATEST
Parallel parking approved

Like so many other things in the world of Boulder City government, the issue of reconfiguring parking in the historic downtown area along Nevada Way, which generated enough heat to cause council members to delay a decision up until the last possible moment, ended with more of a whimper than a bang.

Jarvis recognized by city council

Salome Jarvis was involved in planning activities for seniors in long-term care before she started doing that in Boulder City. In fact, she helped create the Southern Nevada Activity Professional Association (SNAPA) in the late 1980s.

Fire chief search down to 3

Now that Ned Thomas has had time to unpack a few things in his office and attend a couple of meetings as the new city manager, there’s been a list of things to tackle waiting for him in his new role.

City adopts fiscal year ‘26 budget

It is hands down the most consequential action taken by the city council each year and yet it often happens without much in the way of public comment.

Council reverses planning commission split decision

A permit for building a single home on a lot that has sat empty (though graded and utilities run and ready for development) for some 40 years would not usually be fodder for a news story.

Council parks parking proposal

In the end it was a case of sound and fury signifying nothing. At least not until June 10.

Council outlaws camping, sleeping in public

“A growing number of individuals are occupying public space across the valley and in cities all over the nation — including Boulder City — and are storing personal property and belongings in public places in a manner that causes concern and creates a public nuisance.”

City does U-turn on parking

Last week, the city posted on its social media outlets an invitation to the public to attend an open house May 19 to discuss its plans for parking along Nevada Way between Wyoming and Arizona streets. The plan called for parking in the center of the street.

Thomas reports on strategic plan at council meeting

The new city manager’s first public presentation in a city council meeting was about kind of old news — an update on the five-year strategic plan that was approved by the council in October of last year. The plan covers the years 2025 through 2030.