State shouldn’t raid local treasuries

The 2011 legislative session presents us with an opportunity. While many are concerned about the state budget deficit, which could be as much as $3 billion, depending on whom you ask, I see this session as a chance for our leaders to start to look forward and really determine what kind of state we want Nevada to be.

We need to decide where we want to take this state and then look at what needs to be done to get there. We can't let partisan politics get in the way of beginning the work of carving out real solutions to the state's problems, instead of passing them on. During the last election, the voters of Southern Nevada made it very clear they do not want to see the state take money from local governments without a vote of the people.

This advisory question should serve as a signpost to the Legislature that the residents of the state do not support additional cuts to services and programs at the local level in order to shift funds to fill the budget hole in Carson City. It is simply robbing Peter to pay Paul.

The city of Las Vegas must present a balanced budget every year and has done so through a painful process of cost reductions and labor agreements designed to create a "new city employee" whose wages and benefits will be more in line with the private sector.

Furthermore, while the city was struggling with an 8 percent drop in revenues over the past four years, the state saw its revenues increase by 19 percent during that same time period.

The city of Las Vegas has worked extremely hard to solve a budget shortfall that at one point was projected to be more than $400 million over five years. The city left no stone unturned in searching out efficiencies that can help us deliver a high level of service at a reduced cost.

We asked our employees to roll back their wages and benefits -- no cost of living, longevity or step increases. All of our employee groups have complied, saving $36 million over the next three fiscal years. Because of their sacrifice we are able to maintain critical services. In addition, we have reorganized and consolidated several departments and functions, cutting 600 positions -- almost 300 of which were layoffs.

We have met with our constituents at town hall meetings to seek their recommendations and identify their priorities. Through that process we have become a more efficient and transparent organization. We have met with community leaders and participated in ongoing discussions with legislators.

In short, we worked hard to stabilize our budget with reorganization, layoffs, union concessions, program reductions and program eliminations. After all this, it would be patently unfair to once again turn to the local jurisdictions to balance the state's budget.

I recently met with Gov. Brian Sandoval to discuss what the city of Las Vegas is doing in implementing our own job creation initiatives and redevelopment programs to retain business as well as focus on bringing new businesses to our downtown area. The governor told me he understands the great work the city is doing, and he has no plans to take money from these highly successful programs.

In 2010, city redevelopment projects created more than 9,600 jobs. The momentum the city has built in partnership with the private sector is best illustrated by Zappos, a world-class company, deciding to move to downtown Las Vegas. With Zappos building a corporate campus and bringing thousands of new workers downtown, we have a new jumping-off point for other corporations to choose downtown Las Vegas and Southern Nevada as their home.

The results of the city's Redevelopment Agency speak for themselves when you talk about projects like the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and the Smith Center for Performing Arts in downtown's Symphony Park. World-class culture and medicine are now a part of Las Vegas and would not be here but for the city's Redevelopment Agency.

The same can be said for the Las Vegas Premium Outlets mall, the World Market Center, the Molasky Building and the IRS headquarters. It would not be wise to take from one of the few bright spots in an otherwise sagging economy.

There is certainly a lot of work to be done, but I hope that the state will look to the cities as partners in finding solutions instead of simply as a source from which to take money. We all know that one of the most talked about solutions for the state's budget woes is economic diversity.

I submit that the city's Redevelopment Agency and the private sector are already working toward that goal through projects like the brain institute and the Nevada Cancer Institute, which I believe are the start of medical tourism.

We will have new cultural offerings and museums, such as the Neon Museum and the Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, and I believe we will also soon see construction start on a new arena in Las Vegas that will bring us a major-league sports franchise.

Tough decisions need to be made, but I think it is time for the state to take the same hard look at its budget as the city did with its own.

Oscar B. Goodman, an attorney, has been mayor of Las Vegas for the past 12 years.