Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005 | 11:22 a.m.
City of North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon asked legislators this morning to be wary of capping assessed values when they tackle the issue of rising property taxes this legislative session.
North Las Vegas is on the brink of major commercial growth to catch up to its booming population, and a cap on assessed values "would be more than detrimental, almost devastating to us," Montandon said at a meeting of the Assembly Government Affairs Committee.
"North Las Vegas is at a point right now where we've been living on the anticipation of this economic boom, let us enjoy it, let us have it," he said.
His remarks came a day after legislators expressed frustration that local governments haven't done anything to mitigate the surge in property taxes expected this year.
Several legislators said in a joint Assembly-Senate committee Tuesday that local governments had a year to talk about ways to lower their property tax rates, which are the most stable source of income to school districts and other local government entities.
Instead, the governments are appealing to the Legislature to come up with a solution in a few weeks.
"We're in a terrible position," said Assemblyman Harry Mortenson, D-Las Vegas, who said that while campaigning this year he met several widows who were worried about having to sell their homes because of rising property taxes.
"We've got schools we've got to support, we've got counties we've got to support and we have little old ladies we have to support," he said.
Legislature hope to come up with a solution to rising property taxes by March when local governments will begin to solidify their budgets for the 2005-2006 fiscal year.
Lawmakers established a joint Assembly-Senate committee in hopes of coming up with a solution to rising property taxes by March, when local governments will begin to solidify their budgets for the 2005-2006 fiscal year.
The issue has been a public debate for months, but some legislators expressed frustration at their first meeting Tuesday that they had just a few weeks to overhaul the most stable revenue source to school districts and local governments.
Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, told representatives of city and county governments that they are constantly lobbying the Legislature for more control of their revenue, yet they failed to step up to the plate in the past few months and talk about ways local governments could lower their tax rates.
Clark County Assessor Mark Schofield first warned about skyrocketing assessments in June.
Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno, agreed with Perkins, saying that county governments knew the Legislature wouldn't convene until Monday.
"We weren't meeting for a year," he said. "Other people were meeting every day."
Local governments could have worked together to come up with ways to reduce rates, Townsend said.
While some legislators -- lead by Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas -- say the Legislature might need to temporarily freeze property value at 2004 levels while they come up with a permanent solution to the problem, Assembly Minority Leader Lynn Hettrick, R-Gardnerville, said a temporary fix won't satisfy people threatening to pass a petition to cut property taxes.
Many government officials have expressed worry that public support would rise for a measure similar to California's Proposition 13, which would put strict caps on property-tax growth.
And any sort of measure that would implement caps for a few years and then "sunset" also will provoke voter ire, Hettrick said.
"Anything that says sunset they are going to believe is not a solution to the issue," he said.
Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, said she's tired of being "almost threatened" that if legislators don't act quickly, Nevada residents will circulate a petition that would drastically cut government revenue.
Giunchigliani said she supports some sort of tax abatement but thinks the Legislature might have to invoke a temporary freeze to give homeowners immediate relief while ensuring the Legislature doesn't cause a bigger problem.
Marvin Leavitt, a longtime tax expert, told legislators that local governments would have difficulties reducing property tax rates because some rates are set by the Legislature and others rates pay back government debt.
"If you really want to address the rate, the only people that can do it is you," he said.
Clark County Assessor Mark Schofield said that Clark County, for example, has 88 different rates within its property-tax assessment.
Property taxes in Clark County are expected to go up an average of 20 to 50 percent, with some as high as 87 percent, Schofield said. And assessed vacant land value will increase 100 to 300 percent, he said.
The problem will affect all areas of Clark County except for areas in its urban core, which will not see large increases in value, Schofield said.
The situation in rural counties, however, is far different. Andrew List, executive director of the Nevada Association of Counties, said that of the state's 17 counties, nine are losing population and assessed property value.
Mineral County, for example, has lost 60 percent of its assessed property value as people have left the county, he said. List encouraged legislators to be mindful of the impact of property tax plans on rural counties.
The joint committee will meet again on Thursday, when it will hear from several tax experts.
This morning Montandon said he does recognize there is a problem with rising property taxes, and he said his city probably doesn't need the huge windfall it could reap from the rising 2005 values.
But Montandon said he hopes the Legislature will take into account that areas such as Summerlin and parts of Henderson have enjoyed growth in property taxes in recent years, while North Las Vegas is just about to realize a real increase in property taxes, he said.
Montandon said he hopes the Legislature will look at some sort of exemption, perhaps combined with a cap.
The city's property tax rate is $3.40, which is higher than most Southern Nevada cities, Montandon said. About $1.20 of that goes to the city, Montandon said.
Montandon said the city is willing to talk about lowering its property tax rates, but it can't do it alone. Other entities that levy property taxes in the city would also need to lower rates, he said.
About one-third of the city's budget comes from property taxes, Montandon said.
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