County could lose vehicle privilege tax

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, March 21, 2001 | 11:01 a.m.

Clark County coffers, designated to accommodate growth by providing police, firefighters and social services, could be sucked dry if an Assembly bill introduced Monday is passed by the state Legislature, officials said.

The bill would strip the county of its share of the state's vehicle privilege tax for the next two years to help fund an annual 2 percent statewide pay raise for teachers and replenish school equipment.

Clark County would lose half its portion of the tax -- about $17 million -- next fiscal year and at least $36 million the next year. Though the county's proposed budget for next year is $745 million, officials say they can't afford to lose the privilege tax.

"It is going to kill us," Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates said. "It will financially devastate Clark County."

Clark County's total share of fees paid at the Department of Motor Vehicles is $96 million, an amount divided between the county, cities and townships. The county receives $36 million, said Finance Director George Stevens.

"If you lose $36 million out of your budget, you cut services, you lay people off, whatever," Stevens said. "That's a lot of money when you're trying to increase and provide better services. It's serious."

And the timing couldn't be worse for the county, Stevens said.

Earlier this month the county enacted a hiring freeze after growth in sales tax revenues dropped from 12 percent to 2.5 percent during a six-month period.

About 60 percent of the county's general fund budget is spent on public safety, and Stevens said the proposed Assembly bill could affect planned capital projects. Aside from the new courthouse and new jail, the county plans to build 10 fire stations and five Metro substations during the next decade.

The bill extends to the county the authority to raise property taxes to make up for the loss. Nevertheless, Stevens said the county would rather the state look at other options to help fund the educational system.

"I think they need to look at a variety of things," Stevens said. "You can't just rob Peter to pay Paul. You have to come up with a comprehensive way to solve problems."

The bill's co-sponsor, Rep. David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas, is accustomed to governments' responses when discussions revolve around taking money away. He said the bill isn't intended to put governments in a financial bind, but rather to begin serious talks about funding the struggling educational system.

"The main thing is not to attack every idea to the end of the world but to use the ideas to sort of generate discussions on what solutions are going to be," Goldwater said. "I'm dead set on leaving the session with some short-term solution for the educational crisis."

Goldwater said teachers' wages in Nevada are making it difficult to hire additional staff. A lack of funding has left the system short-handed and without the proper amount of equipment and books.

"Every proposal, someone says it's devastating; it's the end of the world and they'll have to cut services," Goldwater said. "We're cutting services to kindergarteners through 12th graders. I don't know of anyone more important than that."

Stevens said because the bill was just introduced the county has yet to come up with a strategy to fight the proposal.

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