Over a barrel: Tax protester wants to strip government waste

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2003 | 11:08 a.m.

Asuit of bright red long johns. A barrel. And an anti-tax crusade.

Tax protester Al Colley is bringing those together to advertise his message during Clark County Commission meetings. Colley, wearing his underwear and a barrel, passed out pamphlets outside the County Government Center during Wednesday's commission meeting.

And he plans to be there again when the commission meets next.

Colley is unhappy with most taxes -- people may remember his appearance in Carson City during the anti-tax protests at the extended sessions in July -- but he is focusing his protest on the troubled and long-delayed Regional Justice Center downtown.

Construction of the justice center, which will house numerous courtrooms next to the Regional Detention Center, is behind schedule by more than 20 months. The center was supposed to open in January 2002. Disputes between the contractor and the county over the project continue.

The County Commission last year assigned Aviation Department Director Randy Walker to oversee the project. Walker has charged that the contractor has done substandard work and withheld payment for millions of dollars. The contractor, AF Construction, has said it cannot meet deadlines unless it gets those millions to pay subcontractors.

Colley refers to himself as "a recent evacuee from California" who came to the Silver State to seek greener, and lower-tax, pastures.

He says the Regional Justice Center's pricetag has gone from $123.5 million to $185 million and Colley has demanded "a public inquiry" to be conducted by a three-person panel. Colley asks people to sign his pamphlets and return them to him, so he can pass them onto the County Commission.

Colley, who said he has no affiliation with any political group or party, charges that the county is hiding the true cost of the project.

"We've got all kinds of shells out there with different amounts of money underneath," he said.

County officials weren't impressed.

"He's looking for a platform, any platform," county spokesman Erik Pappa said. "Just because Mr. Colley moved here in March from California and suddenly became interested in this project doesn't mean we haven't had numerous public discussions on this project.

"We've been nothing but open and accountable on this project."

Pappa said the cost of the project is now pegged at $124 million, about 15 percent over the original cost estimate. Colley is confusing other projects, such as work on the detention center, with the justice center, Pappa said.

"He's got several projects lumped together."

Colley is not convinced and promises to keep up his vigil at upcoming County Commission meetings "until I get a public inquiry launched."