Who’s the bigger supporter of public safety?
As violent crime rises in Southern Nevada, the Clark County Commission and Las Vegas City Council are battling for that distinction.
The verbal feud between the government entities began last week when City Council approved shuffling an additional $440,000 to Metro Police to fund a 13-week program focusing on crime hot spots. In the process, council members lobbed blame on the commission, insinuating that its long, contentious road to approve the More Cops sales tax increase contributed to the current crime spike.
“Clark County is obviously not participating considering what they did with the More Cops initiative,” Mayor Pro Tem Steve Ross said last Wednesday, referencing the fight against crime.
In September, the commission voted 6-1 to approve a sales tax rate increase, from 8.1 percent to 8.15 percent, to fund more than 100 new officer positions. The tax increase, however, was smaller than initial proposals and years in the making.
The public criticism didn’t sit well with the seven-member commission, which fired back Tuesday during its regular meeting and reiterated support for the police department.
Chairman Steve Sisolak recommended the county allocate an additional $1 million annually to Metro that would pay for permanent officer positions and programs. He called the city’s temporary funding proposal a “small beginning” that won’t create a long-term solution.
Sisolak pressed Assistant Sheriff Todd Fasulo to say which funding proposal would be better. Fasulo dodged giving a direct answer but acknowledged permanent budget increases will never be turned down.
“To answer your question, we’ll take anything we can get,” he said. “Cops matter.”
The county’s $1 million allocation would come from a detention center reserve fund, Sisolak said. The funding formula for the police department dictates that the city would need to contribute $620,000 yearly, bringing the total budget augmentation to $1.62 million.
That amount would pay for the permanent addition of one sergeant, two detectives and 10 officers, according to the police department. The recurring costs of those hires would be lower — $1.2 million — in future years.
The city’s $440,000 contribution, which the council approved last week, was earmarked for overtime costs associated with creating another neighborhood engagement team. After the department identifies high-crime areas, officers who are part of that team zero in on those neighborhoods to reduce violence.
Violent crime has decreased by double digits in certain areas where the NET has been deployed, Fasulo said.
The department eventually hopes to staff 2.1 officers per 1,000 residents, which authorities say is the national average. Its current ratio is 1.7 officers per 1,000 residents.
The commission voted unanimously to move forward with the proposal to allocate an additional $1 million to the police department.
“I hope the city steps up,” Commissioner Larry Brown said during the meeting. “ … This is a positive step in the right direction because we’re going to have to incrementally get back to where we were.”
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