Editorial: Taxpayers foot bill for empty seats

Thursday, Aug. 21, 1997 | 9:18 a.m.

The Las Vegas Valley Growing Together Forum attracted 120 business and political leaders, but not a single elected official from Las Vegas participated in the four-hour seminar.

Mayor Jan Laverty Jones was there briefly, but after an introductory speech, she signed a ceremonial resolution and then left to shoot a live TV show and attend a town hall meeting with Gov. Bob Miller.

Jones and the four council members, who said they had family and business obligations, were noticeably absent from the brainstorming sessions that followed the speeches.

That won't do in a community where growth is the overriding issue. University and media polls show that 81 to 89 percent of residents think Las Vegas is growing too fast.

Of course, it's easy to be cynical about gatherings like the forum, where rhetoric accumulates in large mounds that dwarf real solutions.

We have serious doubts whether these forums are worth the cost to taxpayers.

Five local governments -- Clark County, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City -- paid $6,000 each to bring in the consultants who staged the event.

A follow-up session in October will cost $155,000.

The wisdom of throwing money at consultants is questionable, especially since each of the governments has its own planning department.

Plus, you simply can't place powerful casino executives and developers in a seminar with politicians and expect the politicians to say something that might anger them, like, "Let's limit construction."

We're not saying that's the answer to the valley's growth problems, but it's true that such settings don't encourage outspoken remarks of the sort that provoke action.

Even so, if the event is going to take place, and if others who are shaping the growth debate are present and if you're paying $6,000 in taxpayer dollars, then you should participate.

The worst cynic can't deny that it was encouraging to see warring politicians in the same room at the forum this week at UNLV.

Many of the figures at the center of the growth debate were present, including County Commission Chairwoman Yvonne Atkinson Gates and state Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas.

The City Council was the missing leg on that stool. Spokeswoman Cathy Hanson said later that Las Vegas was well represented, with the city manager and other planning executives on hand.

The problem is, staffers help devise policy, but only with approval from elected officials.

Officials at Jones' level are going to have to work together if there's any hope for resolution.

In the future, Las Vegas' elected officials should see fit to attend growth meetings.