Panel wary of politics in tax debate

Kirsten Searer

Friday, July 30, 2004 | 11:04 a.m.

While many agree that the prospect of skyrocketing property taxes is an issue that must be addressed soon, advisers on a legislative committee argued Thursday that the movement cannot get caught up in politics.

Clark County Assessor Mark Schofield told the committee that he understands Gov. Kenny Guinn is leaning against calling a special session of the Legislature to take up the issue.

Several legislators had asked for the session to settle property taxes before local governments must finalize their budgets. Schofield argues that property taxes in Clark County could rise by 50 percent next year because of skyrocketing property values.

But in a recent phone call with the governor, Schofield said, Guinn said he was concerned that lawmakers might be too mindful of the ongoing election season while they hammered out a tax cap.

Instead, Schofield said, Guinn promised to push for a bill capping property taxes by the end of February.

Guinn spokesman Greg Bortolin said the governor wants to look at legislation early in the session but has not made promises to back a bill.

As for a special session, Bortolin said the governor's hesitancy to call a session is indicative of his support.

"The governor hasn't come out and said he's not going to call a special session," Bortolin said. "But it's pretty obvious which way he's leaning."

"I think at this point if you ask the question of whether this crisis is to the level of needing a special session, I think those arguments are not coming across as strongly as they need to," Bortolin said.

Members of the tax committee, who are experts on public finance, echoed those concerns Thursday that politics should not be involved in the process of capping property taxes.

"It's probably one of the most important issues we'll be facing in the coming weeks and months," said Guy Hobbs, a government financial expert who chairs the committee, which advises the Committee for Local Government Taxes and Finance.

Hobbs and others cautioned against passing caps that would be detrimental to the local and school governments that rely on the taxes for revenue.

Phil Stoeckinger, the director of finance for the City of North Las Vegas, pointed out that it has been decades since lawmakers last took up the issue of property taxes.

"It's truly a once-in-a-generation type thing," said Stoeckinger, who said the issue must be looked at from "oodles of different directions."

While legislators who called for the special session said the issue could be resolved in several days, Hobbs said he is "just not a believer that at the end of the day, it's going to be a two-page bill draft."

Schofield said he has been getting hundreds of calls each day from residents hoping to appeal their property taxes or wanting information on caps.

And he said that some hoped to lessen this year's taxes, which just arrived in the mail. It's too late to lower those taxes for this year, but something can be done about next year -- but not too late next year, he said.

"It's got to be done by the end of March," he said.