Herrera works to free $3 million of county money to fight dump

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, March 27, 2002 | 11:17 a.m.

Clark County Commission chairman Dario Herrera said Tuesday he wants to give $3 million of county money to help fund the state's fight against transporting nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain.

"I'm going to ask the board to consider delaying capital improvement projects so that we can provide additional resources in this anti-Yucca Mountain campaign," Herrera said.

"I believe if we are able to commit additional resources to the campaign, we'll be able to effectively get our message out and have people join Nevada."

Under Herrera's plan, an upgrade of the county's computer system would be delayed to help free up the $3 million.

Herrera, who will ask his colleagues on the board next week to approve the money, said the plan is contingent on whether the state Legislature follows Gov. Kenny Guinn's plea to call a special session to earmark as much as $10 million toward the state's high-stakes battle.

The county's portion would go toward the $10 million goal, lessening the impact on the state's $136 million emergency fund. With the county's help, state legislators might be more willing to approve the funding, he said.

"I talked to (county administrators) exhaustively to identify the least harmful method of coming up with additional resources," Herrera said. "I've also approached Mayor (Jim) Gibson and (Oscar) Goodman and asked them to consider additional resources."

Though Herrera has the support of Guinn and state Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and John Ensign, R-Nev., at least one colleague was not ready to back the proposal.

Commissioner Bruce Woodbury noted that the county has already pitched in $1 million toward the state's effort to stop shipments from being stored at Yucca Mountain.

A poor economy since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- combined with unexpected expenses such as cost overruns at the $170 million Regional Justice Center -- makes it difficult for the county to part with cash, Woodbury said.

Woodbury said he received a call Tuesday from Ensign, who last week called the effort a "do-or-die fight for the state of Nevada."

"I am not prepared to commit to it; I have some significant concerns about it," Woodbury said. "We have a very difficult financial situation already. We have a government to run and a lot of services to provide."

County Manager Thom Reilly said he'll leave it up to the commission to decide what the county's priorities should be.

"It's all about how we prioritize projects," he said. "If we prioritize one, others obviously become a lower priority."