It’s been a busy new year for Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley.
Since taking office in December, Berkley—former Nevada Congresswoman and former senior vice president of the Touro University system—has led her first city council meeting, met with her government affairs team to discuss bill drafts for the state Legislature, and even rung in the new year with rapper Flo Rida on Fremont Street.
The Weekly sat down with Berkley to discuss her priorities for 2025, issues like homelessness and regional development and more.
Having just been sworn in on December 4, you’re in the midst of onboarding with the city. Is there any department that you’re looking forward to meeting with, or any specific issue you’re wanting to talk about?
Of course, working with the city manager’s office to conclude the Badlands [golf course] saga; that was the first order of business and I’m very happy that I was able to fulfill a campaign promise to get Badlands off the table.
I am [also] looking forward to meeting with the department heads regarding the Animal Foundation and what the city will be doing to protect abandoned and abused animals, and what we can do to help educate our fellow citizens on what they can do to help protect our four-legged friends. I’m talking about spaying and neutering, microchipping (and) getting rid of backyard breeders.
Also, I’m looking forward to talking to the city directors regarding the Courtyard [Homeless Resource Center] and what we are going to do to address the homeless challenge that we have in the city. Nobody should be living on the streets, but what can we do as a city is to ensure that we can provide mental health therapy, addiction therapy and work with the homeless in an effort to get them off the streets and self-sustaining.
What kind of community outreach do you plan on doing as mayor?
I definitely want to do either a biweekly or a monthly press conference that’s open to all of the press, free wheeling, no restrictions. I think that’s very important, and we’ll be initiating that probably no later than March.
Also, I want to start going into the different wards. I understand that Mayor [Carolyn] Goodman used to, once a month, go into the different wards with the city councilperson from that ward, and just have a conversation with our mutual constituents; what’s on their mind, what are their needs … so I plan to start initiating that also no later than March.
Former Mayor Carolyn Goodman did a lot in her final months as mayor to address the homelessness issue, including to update the controversial camping ban. How do you plan to address the issue?
Of course, the vote on the camping ban came before the city council before I became mayor, but I would have supported it had I been in office. I will be working very closely with the Courtyard to see exactly what services they are providing and how we can improve the services that we deliver to the homeless population.
What I think is very important [is] working collaboratively with the other jurisdictions in Southern Nevada so we can come up with solutions that work across jurisdictional lines. You know, I have very close relations with the county commissioners, North Las Vegas City Council and mayor, Henderson City Council and mayor. When I was CEO of Touro University, we worked very closely with the Henderson city government.
I believe that the relationships that I’ve developed throughout the many decades will be to the benefit of certainly the City of Las Vegas, but reaching out and collaborating with other elected officials who are tasked with running their cities and county, I think, would be very beneficial to all the people that live in Southern Nevada.
Speaking of working with the other jurisdictions, a bunch of regional projects were announced last year, such as the children’s hospital in the southwest valley. Are there any regional projects, either within the city lines or outside of it, that you’re really excited to see?
I’ve been a proponent of a children’s hospital since I ran Touro University. We need one. On a personal level, my son, Max, was born with spina bifida. There was nobody here in Southern Nevada that could perform the operation that he needed, so we had to go to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for Max’s spina bifida to be corrected.
Even though the proposal for the children’s hospital is not located in the City of Las Vegas, it will benefit everybody in Southern Nevada. Consequently, I would be supportive of that on behalf of the city.
Same thing with sports teams. I don’t know what other sports teams will be coming to Southern Nevada. I mean, we’re already the gaming capital of the world, the entertainment capital of the world and rapidly becoming the sports capital of the world. But I don’t think anybody can go to a Raiders game or a Golden Knights game and not think that this is a benefit to everybody that lives in Southern Nevada. So technically, they may not be located within the boundaries of the city, but it still benefits all of us, right?
City of Las Vegas priorities for the Legislature
The Nevada Legislature convenes on February 3, and cities across Nevada are finalizing bill draft requests—essentially laws they would like to see passed. Here are the bill draft requests the City of Las Vegas has on deck.
Affordable housing projects
Senate Bill 28 proposes a higher threshold for the average of total gross income of families within an affordable housing project, raising the limit from 60% to 120% of the median gross income for the county based on estimates of the current median gross family income in the U.S. from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. It also sets requirements for a local government to order an affordable housing, fixed guideway, high-capacity transit, multi-family housing or transportation project—most notably that it be in an area designed for transit opportunities or another land use matching with the local master plan.
Land use planning
The planning commission of a city or county is mandated to develop a master plan for the area’s physical development, and Senate Bill 48 would revise the conservation, housing, land use and safety elements of these plans. It asks for a conservation plan that addresses the sustainability of natural resources and a plan to address homelessness, among others. The bill would also create three more requirements—economic, education and public health elements—and establish that local governments must review ordinances within a year after passage to ensure they align with the master plan.
Medicaid coverage
Up to 90 days of medical respite care for people experiencing homelessness would be covered by Medicaid, if federal dollars are available, according to text in Senate Bill 54. Services covered must include case management; behavioral health support; food and housing; storage and management of medications; transportation for medical appointments; care before or following a medical procedure; evaluation, assessment and “immediate” interventions for other life factors; and care for substance use disorders.
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