Council directs staff to advance 31-year bond and levy package including jail staffing and public defense funding

The Clark County Council signaled direction at a July 15 work session to advance a bond and levy lid lift package that would fund a jail remodel and staffing, add positions for the sheriff's office and include $5.5 million for public defense.

Kathleen, a county staff member leading the presentation, told the council the bond maturity recommendation has been adjusted from 30 to 31 years to provide timing flexibility and possible reimbursement options. She also said staff recommend rounding authorization amounts for ballot language and confirmed the sheriff's office revised a requested two-commander staffing increase down to one commander.

"We are recommending to move that to 31 years," Kathleen said, explaining the change provides additional flexibility. She also said staff'prepared estimates show the proposed public-defense addition would cover operations through at least 2028 and that the per-medium-homeowner impact for that portion was estimated at about $25.

Councilor Young said public defense is "a need" and supported including the funding in the voter package, and other council members voiced similar support for proceeding. Kathleen asked for direction on whether the council wanted the staffing additions and the public-defense component included; multiple members answered in the affirmative, and staff said the measures would be brought back for final consideration at the council'meeting on July 21.

Sarah Lowe, chief deputy treasurer, and Duncan Brown of PFM Financial Advisors explained how the bond authorization and homeowner-impact estimates work. Brown said the resolution authorizes a maximum principal amount and maximum term, while interest rates would be determined when the bonds are actually sold. He said staff used current market conditions plus a 1% cushion for modeling, producing a conservative blended illustrative rate "a little over 5%"; if interest rates come in lower at sale, the homeowner impact would be lower than the estimates on the illustrative materials.

"Those estimates were based on current market conditions plus about a 1% cushion," Brown said, describing the blended illustrative rate and the conservative approach.

Kathleen also recommended revisiting the previously-discussed 10-year incremental levy lid lift and instead proposed a one-year permanent levy lid lift (or a higher first-year rate if the council kept incremental structure) to reduce annual uncertainty about whether the funds will be available for staffing. She said the concern is that if the bond passes but annual levy approvals fail in later years, the county could be left unable to staff new facilities.

Staff emphasized contingency planning in the project total and said the county would only levy for amounts actually needed to pay debt service as bonds are sold. The council asked staff for additional information where possible and set the item for final consideration at the July 21 council meeting.

Next steps: staff will finalize draft ballot language and provide any additional requested breakdowns ahead of the July 21 meeting, where the council may take final action on the bond and levy packages.