LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Less than eight months to go before Americans cast their votes in the 2024 General Election. While much of the focus has been on the presidential matchup, there are local races and issues that will also be on the ballot.
Tuesday, Henderson City Council approved a ballot question on public safety for voters to decide on a new property tax that would bring in $27.5 million dollars for the fire department. The fire chief says the money is desperately needed as the city has grown dramatically and continues to grow. The fire chief says several areas of the city are now being overwhelmed by emergency call volumes and it has led to delays in response time when people need help most.
“A little over 20 years ago when the city leaders of our past set out on a goal to become America’s premier community, we realized pretty quick that you are not going to have a premier community without a premier fire department,” Henderson Fire Chief Shawn White asserted. Among his concerns, aging facilities and an aging fleet as many new people continue to move in.
“All this exciting success has created some pretty significant challenges… We continue to struggle to meet our performance benchmarks,” White reported. The benchmark for getting a ladder truck to a fire: eight minutes.
“We can currently only meet that goal about 50 percent of the time,” White revealed. Calls to Henderson Fire and EMS have jumped by 23% in the past five years, and in some areas they’ve exploded.
“In District 99, the Anthem area… our aging population, call volume has increased by 40 percent,” White explained. The department expects call volume to continue to rise by 9,000 to 10,000 calls over the next five years, and the system is already stretched. “Our biggest competitor is the clock. When there is a critical medical event, we have got about six minutes to intervene,” White contended.
The council approved putting a special elective property tax on the ballot to pay for fire department operations, maintenance, personnel, and equipment. To raise the $27.5 million requested, property taxes in Henderson would go up six cents per every $100 of assessed valuation.
Six cents extra would put city property taxes at 83 cents per dollar. Mayor Michelle Romero shared that is far below property tax rates of other major cities in the state.
Here is the text of the proposal from the Henderson City Council agenda:
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HENDERSON, NEVADA, EXPRESSING ITS INTENT TO INTRODUCE A QUESTION THAT WILL BE PLACED ON THE CITY OF HENDERSON NOVEMBER 5, 2024, GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT ASKING THE CITY OF HENDERSON VOTERS WHETHER TO INCUR $27,500,000.00 IN GENERAL OBLIGATION DEBT TO FINANCE CONSTRUCTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF FIRE DEPARTMENT FACILITIES AND TO LEVY A SPECIAL ELECTIVE TAX FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, PERSONNEL, AND EQUIPMENT.
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