City’s needs must be identified, prioritized

As we begin the second month of 2022 the weather has begun to warm, which means it is the beginning of the budgeting process for our city government. We are fortunate that revenues for the city have remained relatively stable during the pandemic.

Many residents and businesses did sustain losses during the year. These losses were financial and, at times, tragically personal. While the losses were offset to some degree by programs under both President (Donald) Trump and President (Joe) Biden, the benefits from these programs were not always available to everyone equally.

The Paycheck Protection Program passed during President Trump’s administration brought more than $28 million in assistance to local businesses. This enormous support from the government to private businesses certainly helped many remain in operation and be able to recover more quickly. Unfortunately, we did see some businesses fail. Fortunately, we have also seen new businesses open.

The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act also passed during Trump’s administration provided $1.5 million to Boulder City. Of that amount $500,000 was issued in grants to local businesses and support to local families and residents. A debt of gratitude is owed to the volunteers of Emergency Aid (of Boulder City) for all their efforts in identifying families needing this support and ensuring people were able to remain in their homes.

The CARES Act continued increased unemployment insurance benefits President Trump had initiated. These increased benefits assisted many of our residents who lost their jobs as the tourism industry in Southern Nevada sustained major decreases in the number of visitors coming to Las Vegas.

As the economy recovered, the benefits from programs President Trump included began to expire. President Biden initiated the American Rescue Plan that is providing continuing support to private businesses and support for families and residents still being impacted by the pandemic.

These programs have provided the means necessary to recover more quickly. As an example, the sales tax revenue for our city last year was above the amounts received before the pandemic. Funding from the Rescue Plan will also allow the city to undertake infrastructure projects in the coming years that will provide good jobs. The projects the funds can be used for may not be glamorous but these will provide years of benefits to our community. We will soon begin asking for input from the community and identifying eligible projects for these funds.

The pandemic is not over. Over the past few weeks the testing program the fire department has been dedicated to providing residents has shown some of the highest levels of COVID infections. Sadly, we continue to have residents die from the virus and others suffering serious illness. Some businesses have had to reduce the number of days or hours they are open due to employees becoming sick or having to care for family members.

Parents and children recently had a pause of a few days to allow our schools to recover and adjust to the continuing shortage of personnel. There has been a welcome downward trend over the past two weeks in the number of people requesting tests and in the percentage of people testing positive. But the numbers continue to be higher than we had seen in several months.

Each of us can greatly lessen our chances of becoming seriously ill by obtaining the safe, effective and free vaccines that are now readily available. The vaccine booster shots have been shown to be effective against the current omicron variant of COVID and significantly increase the body’s ability to fight off the virus.

My focus during the budget process each year is to identify the needs of the community and prioritize the needs in relation to the money we actually have. Some will not be glamorous but city services should be the highest priorities when taxpayers are asked to fund projects with their hard-earned dollars. We are building a better Boulder City that businesses and residents benefit from. And we all learn eventually there are limits on how much taxpayers should be asked to pay.

The State of the City address was postponed until Feb. 17 due to the rising COVID infections. Social hour begins at 5 p.m. with my address at 6 p.m. at Boulder Creek (Golf Club). The event will also be livestreamed. Details are available at www.bcnv.org.

Please be well.

The opinions expressed above belong solely to the author and do not represent the views of the Boulder City Review. They have been edited solely for grammar, spelling and style, and have not been checked for accuracy of the viewpoints.

Kiernan McManus is mayor of Boulder City. He is a native of Boulder City first elected to City Council in 2017.