54°F
weather icon Mostly Clear

City proposes adding 15 employees

Boulder City will be able to hire 15 new full-time employees under its tentative budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year.

City Manager Al Noyola and staff presented it at the City Council meeting Tuesday, April 10.

It includes has a general fund budget of approximately $33 million, which is about $126,000 higher than the previous version presented. Its utility fund budget is approximately $34.3 million, almost $5 million less than before.

All of the funds are in “positive territory,” according to Noyola.

He said that he and staff made changes they believed would “put the city in a much better position to add capacity and be able to do some of the critical needs” as well as improving service.

Administrative Officer Bryce Boldt said that 13 of the positions are new ones, and the other two are from expanding part-time jobs.

The new positions include a police dispatcher, a police detective, police sergeant, a communications manager, contracts/real estate manager, purchasing manager, financial analyst and economic development coordinator.

Councilwoman Peggy Leavitt said that seeing a budget like this was a new experience as the council was in a position for so long where it was constrained in hiring new staff.

“We’ve been doing more with less for many years,” she said.

With the three new positions in the finance department, Leavitt said the city’s contracts, real estate and purchases will be able to be monitored more closely.

“We’re adding some positions to city staff that I think are going to be very important to be able to do some things we’ve not been able to do in the past, and I’m also very happy to see that,” said Councilman Kiernan McManus.

Mayor Rod Woodbury agreed with the additions and said they would help achieve the council’s vision for the city. He also said they would allow the city to do more studies internally rather than hiring outside firms.

“I applaud the plan,” he said. “I applaud that you were able to find different sources … you were creative in that.”

Woodbury also said he thought the budget would save the citizens money in the long run and that he was comfortable with what had been presented.

The new communications manager position has a proposed cost of $146,918, and resident James Adams asked what that would mean for the city’s existing contract with 10e Media.

“I’m just curious as to is this going to be in place of 10e Media or are they going to be doing the same thing? … I would be curious to see where these positions would differ and where we can get better communication for the city,” he said.

The budget also includes $25,000 for the drug court program in Municipal Court.

The utility fund reduction comes from reducing the budget for the design of the water line to the Eldorado Valley from $3 million to $1 million and reducing the 69kV transmission loop from $5 million to $2 million, which would virtually eliminate the option of placing any power lines underground.

“We thought that was a better number for that project,” Finance Director Diane Pelletier said about the transmission lines.

This tentative budget has been submitted to the state, per NRS 354.596.

Council did not take any action on the budget at the meeting. Final approval is scheduled for the May 22 meeting. The council has to adopt the budget by June 1.

Contact reporter Celia Shortt Goodyear at cgoodyear@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow her on Twitter @csgoodyear.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Community pride on full display

A mixture of lime, paint and water was used to touch up the city landmark, which saw the B first painted in 1985 and two years later the C by BCHS students. It had been 10 years since the last time it was touched up. Event organizer Bret Runion said he was pleased with the turnout and hopes to see even more assist in future years.

It’s official: STRs banned in BC

For an issue that has caused so much local uproar for more than a year, the question of whether Boulder City should formalize the informal-but-still-binding ban on short-term rentals (STR) within city limits ended with more of a whimper than a bang Tuesday as the City Council voted 4-1 to adopt text changes to city code clarifying that the practice is illegal and establishing a system of civil fines for STR owners who continue to operate.

A busy Saturday in Boulder City

Saturday proved to be a very busy day in Boulder City as events included repainting of the BC on Radar Mountain (see page 2 for photos), as well as the city’s Easter Egg Hunt at Wilbur Square, Flowfest and the popular goat yoga class at Bicentennial Park and the Injured Police Officers Fund car show at Veterans’ Memorial Park.

To chip or not to chip?

In its second time at the plate, as it were, the proposal by Boulder City Councilmember Cokie Booth to require that pets within BC be microchipped ended up with a lot of people talking about maybe taking a swing at the ball but no one actually doing so.

Council candidate slate set

A total of seven candidates for city council and three candidates for justice of the peace of Boulder Township will face off in the primary election scheduled for June 11.

Ultrarunner to push himself to the limit

It’s not uncommon for friends or even family members to try and best one another whether that be athletics, academics or relationships.

Vets home hit with 18 citations

In a recent unannounced inspection, the Southern Nevada State Veterans’ Home was cited 18 times for issues ranging from verbal abuse of a patient to failing to provide meals at an appropriate temperature, to employees not having keys to locked gates, which would be needed in the case of an emergency evacuation.

BDCU looks back on past year at annual meeting

For more than eight decades, the Boulder Dam Credit Union has been the most popular place for Boulder City residents to do their banking, not to mention see friends and neighbors.

Top o’ the evening to ya

Photos by Ron Eland/Boulder City Review

BC repaint: Countdown is on

It’s almost time to don that old pair of jeans, the ratty tennis shoes in the back of your closet and a shirt you’re not worried about ruining.