Montandon backpedals on casino tax increase

Larry Henry

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 1998 | 10:04 a.m.

After talking with gaming lobbyist Richard Bunker, North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon is backing off an earlier statement that he'd support an increase in casino taxes to pay for growth.

During taping Wednesday of "Nevada Week in Review" on KLVX Channel 10, Montandon and other panelists were asked if they'd support raising Nevada's casino tax rate.

Nevada casinos pay 6 1/4 percent on gaming gross revenues, the lowest in the nation.

On the show, which aired Friday and Sunday, Montandon said he'd support a hike "as long as it's reasonable and we're still the lowest."

But on Monday, Montandon said he was simply stating a fact during the show -- that a 1 percent increase would keep Nevada below the tax rate in other states.

"I'm not saying we need to raise it," he said. "Come back and let me know what we're going to fund, and then we'll find the source (of revenue)."

Montandon's remarks Monday came during a break in a meeting of the Southern Nevada Strategic Planning Authority. Montandon and Bunker serve on the 21-member panel, which is to recommend growth solutions to the 1999 Legislature.

Montandon was asked whether he had flip-flopped on the tax issue because Bunker earlier had joked with reporters that Montandon was bushwacked with the question during the TV taping.

Bunker said he spoke with Montandon after he saw a newspaper article about the show, and Montandon told Bunker he doesn't support a hike.

"Are they specifically supporting a gaming tax?" Bunker asked of Montandon and others who have indicated in recent weeks that casinos can afford to pay more for growth. "They are supporting a look at it."

The show's host, Mitch Fox, who attended Monday's planning authority meeting, said Montandon's meaning was clear.

"My recollection of the mayor was that he was supportive (of a tax hike)," Fox said.

The flap over what Montandon meant on the TV show occurred on the same day the planning authority listened to presentations about traffic problems in Clark County and across the state.

According to statistics, half of the 4 million daily car trips in the Las Vegas Valley occur on the Strip.

Traffic congestion has slowed the drive to work for average commuters from 16 minutes in 1990 to 34 minutes in 1996.

Statewide, the Nevada Department of Transportation faces a $2 billion shortfall in highway funds over the next 10 years, Director Tom Stephens said.

Robert Lewis, a developer who serves on the planning authority, said he doubts the panel will recommend a casino tax increase to help make up the shortfall.

"The sense I'm getting is that we can spend money more efficiently," he said.