Local reps go to battle over revenue bill

Erin Neff

Thursday, March 29, 2001 | 11:36 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Local government representatives were expected to crowd an Assembly hearing this afternoon to complain that stealing their revenue won't help solve the state's flawed tax structure.

Assembly Bill 457 would shift the 50 percent of revenues currently given local governments from the motor vehicle privilege tax to fund teacher salary increases. That amounts to about $65 million in lost revenue throughout Clark County each year.

The bill recommends local governments recoup the lost revenue by raising property taxes.

Representatives from Clark County and the cities of Las Vegas and North Las Vegas are opposed to the bill not just because of the loss of revenue but also because they fear being the scapegoat for the state government's failure to address revenue shortages.

"It just seems like it's totally out of sync," said Marvin Leavitt, chief lobbyist for the city of Las Vegas. "What is the purpose of taking a tax we receive, diverting it for something else and leaving us left having to raise property taxes?"

Assemblyman Bob Beers, R-Las Vegas, who sponsored the bill, even admits that "it'll be too bad if this becomes the solution because it's not the right approach."

But Beers came up with the idea when the Legislature was facing the teachers union business tax petition at the same time gaming and business leaders were refusing to come up with alternatives.

"This was never designed to be more than a backup, stopgap measure," Beers said.

When the Supreme Court ruled the teachers' petition unconstitutional, business leaders said the best way to address the state's heavy reliance on volatile sales taxes would be to study the tax structure after the session.

Beers said that leaves his children's teachers "lost in the shuffle."

Leavitt sees a $9.2 million loss in revenue for his city in the first year, which increases to $18.4 million in losses in the second.

"If they want raises for schoolteachers why don't they levy property taxes?" Leavitt asked.

Clark County would suffer the most under the proposal, losing an estimated $35 million by the second year, according to assistant county manager Mike Alastuey.

"The cuts that would be required are so broad that they would affect all services,"Alastuey said.

Clark County lobbyist James Spinello said he does not think the bill will prompt local governments to negotiate how they can split revenue with the state.

"I would hope that it would inspire the Legislature and the state to look at its own tax structure," Spinello said.

This afternoon's hearing was scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. The hearing can be viewed by clicking "listen to live meetings" on the Legislature's website: www.leg.state.nv.us.