NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- From the top of the nine-story City Hall that opened last year in North Las Vegas, the neon lights and redevelopment on the Las Vegas Strip show the economy of Sin City recovering just five miles away.
North Las Vegas, the fastest-growing large city in the U.S. just five years ago, hasn't shared in the bounty. Nevada's third-largest city, whose population more than doubled to 217,482 in 2010 from 1999, is on the verge of insolvency. Facing a $33 million budget gap, elected leaders last week declared a state of emergency and gave the city manager unprecedented powers to suspend union contracts.
