What Happened in Vegas Doesn't Have to Stay in Vegas
City of Las Vegas, NV
Population: 583,756

Time: Thursday April 19 - 10:30-11:45am

It certainly is no secret that the City of Las Vegas has been disproportionately impacted by the changing economic climate over the last 5-10 years. Not only did we experience unprecedented growth during the economic boom; in turn, we saw our economy plummet after the economic downturn, more so than almost any other city in the country. The economic pendulum has swung very wide for Las Vegas. A municipal government with five collective bargaining units has many challenges, even during periods of growth and stability. However, the decrement scenarios the City faced over the last four years escalated challenges to what seemed, at times, to be insurmountable obstacles.

The City of Las Vegas not only addressed these budget shortfalls head on, but did so in an inclusive manner that ensured our mission continued to be met. The required austerity measures were targeted and methodically implemented to ensure an inclusive environment for our citizens and employees to provide continuous input about service deliverables and priorities while meeting our budget goals. The steps we took with our initiative: Think Forward: The New Employee Relations Model can be utilized by any municipality, and we are excited to share them with you.

Attendee take-aways:
• Culture change – it can be done
• Prioritization – constant realignment to goals
• Inclusion – citizens, employees, community