BOULDER CITY – Boulder City is the biggest city in Nevada in terms of land mass (about 212 square miles). It is a city of approximately 15,000 residents, where an ordinance caps annual residential growth and gambling is prohibited. Yet the property tax rate in Boulder City is the lowest of cities in the State of Nevada. How have we retained excellent City services without raising taxes? That’s the subject of our third Cashman Good Government Award in the past six years!
The City of Boulder City was selected a finalist of the Cashman Good Government Award – winning the category “Cities under 100,000.” The award, now in its 27th year, recognizes government ingenuity in providing services in a timely manner and at a lower cost. Judges recognized the City’s efforts to lease City land for solar and battery storage development. These leases account for over a third of Boulder City’s annual general fund budget: $13.7 million of the FY2025 budget come from solar leases.
Boulder City will join five other finalists in Carson City on February 25 at the Nevada Taxpayers Association Dinner. One of the six finalists will be named the overall award winner.
Solar leases have provided a solid revenue stream, proving to be strong even during the COVID years when other communities struggled. Over the past six years (fiscal years 2020 through 2025), the average annual land lease contribution to the general fund’s overall revenue stream was $83,056,738 total in land lease revenues. That’s 34-percent of the City’s general fund total revenues ($246,585,000). “Going forward, it is anticipated that land lease revenues will approach approximately 40% of the overall operating revenues of the City,” said Cynthia Sneed, Finance Director for Boulder City. “The City is projecting a very stable revenue stream of close to $14.7M annually for the next five years based on current leases.”
“This initiative has demonstrated that through the active involvement of the community, City Council and City staff, viable and meaningful impacts can be made to benefit the taxpayer base of the community,” said Michael Mays, Acting City Manager. “This effort has allowed the City to achieve its goals while being fiscally responsible. I am proud of the hard work and dedication of all who work to keep Boulder City a great place to live, work, play and retire.”
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