Las Vegas council briefs for Dec. 5, 2002

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2002 | 9:47 a.m.

Stripper license ordinance studied

The Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday sent to a recommending committee a proposed ordinance that would require strippers at clubs within the city limits to acquire yearly licenses.

The business licenses would replace work cards and would raise an additional $150,000 to $750,000 for the city coffers.

A recommending committee of Councilmen Lawrence Weekly and Michael Mack was assigned to study the bill that will be heard Dec. 16.

The bill proposes that dancers pay $150 and the cost of a one-time background check by Metro Police. Work cards currently cost $35 each and require background checks every five years when the cards are renewed.

The licenses would make the dancers independent contractors, allowing them to choose where they work. Currently, Metro can restrict work cards to specific locations if a dancer has a criminal background.

It is estimated that there are 1,000 to 5,000 exotic dancers working within the city limits.

Ethics board given the axe

Calling the 11-year-old city of Las Vegas ethics code "a noble experiment" that failed, Mayor Oscar Goodman made a motion Wednesday to repeal much of the code and abolish the city's Ethics Review Board.

The proposed ordinance passed 6-0 with little discussion. Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald was in Utah representing the city at a National League of Cities meeting and did not vote.

Goodman said he had seen the "anguish" fellow council members faced going through a city ethics hearing and a similar state ethics hearing over the same issue. He said the state Ethics Commission alone could hear any complaints filed against council members.

City Council members have argued that city ethics laws essentially duplicate state laws.

City Council meetings

scheduled for Jan. 2 and Jan. 15 have been postponed until Jan. 8 and Jan. 22. Morning sessions begin at 9 a.m. The afternoon zoning and development issues session begins at 1 p.m.