Where I Stand: Vehicle to level tax payments has some obvious flaws

Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

LET'S SEE if I have this thing straight.

During the next 45 days, two county commissioners, two City Council members and a gaming executive will meet in secret to come up with a plan to level the amount of taxes paid by residents of Clark County and the city of Las Vegas. At this time, city residents pay higher property taxes than do county residents.

The formation of this committee and its goal were also determined in secret meetings. Somehow or another, they want us to believe that neither those meetings nor future secret meetings will violate the state's open meeting law or insult the intelligence of their constituents.

Well, acting gullible and noncombative, let's say I believe that these secret meetings are OK, because the lower city taxes will justify the means used to achieve this end. In other words, I'll pretend that the end justifies the means, despite knowing that it's a philosophy intelligent and schooled democrats and religious leaders rejected more than 2,000 years ago.

After making these false assumptions and approving the planned meetings, it's necessary to ask several questions in addition to wondering out loud why they must be secret.

What method was used to select the person representing the gamblers? Were other gamblers and the Nevada Resort Association involved in the selection?

If gaming is represented, then shouldn't the builders, labor unions, commercial businesses and the general public also have representatives?

I'd be the last person in the world to question the good intentions of people like Mayor Jan Laverty Jones, County Commission Chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates and gaming executive Barry Shier. They are all quality people who have been successful in their different fields of work and service. Yes, they are good people who have secretly developed a vehicle that can only carry them into deeper problems than now exist. It's made from spare parts of past vehicles the voters and state leaders long ago cast aside as being defective and not good for the general welfare of Nevadans.

Before Jones, Gates and Shier drive their new vehicle into the shadows of past and future problems, they should publicly broaden the committee and then have open gatherings to reach what is good for the people paying taxes in all of Las Vegas and Clark County.

Last week, a letter accusing a UNLV administrator of abusing his position landed on my desk. Because of this administrator's past conduct, it looked like a great column item. This would be a follow-up on a previous complaint I had written about.

It took only two phone calls, and immediately doubts were cast about the veracity of the charges. Then, administrative records convinced me that I had a letter which contained bad information and didn't deserve publication. It sure ruined the makings of a juicy item, but it saved the target and me from being embarrassed if it had been used in this column.

Along these same lines, I've become concerned about the use and abuse of bringing ethics charges against public officials. This becomes especially vicious during election years. Some charges can easily be spotted as nothing but raw politics, designed to discredit a person serving in public office. Despite the ability to see them as nothing but politics, they go through a lengthy process and the elected or appointed official is embarrassed publicly. When the Ethics Commission finally, sometimes months later, clears the official of the charges, much damage has already been done.

Wasn't the original intent of the Nevada Commission on Ethics to provide guidance to public officials seeking to steer clear of conflicts of interest and abuse of power? I know the original intent wasn't to provide a political club for scoundrels to beat up on public officials they dislike or want to have their friends defeat in the next election.

The 1997 Legislature should seek ways to strengthen the Commission on Ethics with a larger staff so decisions can be rendered quickly. The legislators should also seek ways to slow down the use of ethics charges as a cheap campaign tool.