North Las Vegas being 'eaten alive' by its public-sector unions
So reports Business Insider, and the evidence is pretty compelling.
- North Las Vegas, a rapidly growing Las Vegas suburb, faces an $8.6 million budget deficit after the city's police and firefighters unions won a court decision prohibiting layoffs that would have closed the city's budget gap.
- The city now has an ending fund balance of just $7.2 million, or 4.8%, which is just enough to make one payroll. If the balance falls below 4.1%, it could trigger a state takeover of the city's finances.
- A state takeover would raise taxes on North Las Vegas residents to the maximum levels allowed by law. Residents already pay the highest property taxes in the region.
My "favorite" is Chicago.
Guess who's standing up to the unions destroying the city's payroll? Noted union buster and evil conservative ... Mayor Rahm Emanuel? Yep, that's how dire the crises caused by out-of-control government salaries have gotten. Even liberals like Emanuel have to face reality.
- Employee compensation make [sic] up 83% of Chicago's spending. Despite major layoffs, worker costs have risen nearly 10% since 2007 due to cushy union deals that increased wages and benefits for the city's public employees.
- Chicago's unfunded pension obligation is $44.8 billion - nearly eight times the city's annual revenue.
- Mayor Rahm Emanuel has threatened to lay off 600 city workers if unions don't agree to cost-cutting concessions. He has also proposed opening up some city services, like sanitation, to competitive bidding.
