County ponders 2 percent tax on car rentals

Friday, Jan. 28, 2005 | 9:53 a.m.

The cost of renting a car, at least for visitors, could go up 2 percent under a proposed ordinance the Clark County Commission could introduce Tuesday.

The ordinance would put a tax on rental fees, $1 on a $50 rental charge, to pay for expansion of the Culinary Training Academy and ultimately help build a performing arts center downtown. The first $3 million raised through the fee would go to the training academy, located in North Las Vegas.

Money collected over that amount would go to build a performing arts center downtown. Don Burnette, Clark County chief administrative officer, said one issue remains to be resolved before the tax could go to that purpose.

Burnette said the 2003 legislation that authorizes the tax gives the performing arts center money to the county government, which is not asking for the tax receipts.

"It really puts the county in the business of designing, building and operating a performing arts center," he said. "That's not something we necessarily want to do... We don't know much about running performing arts centers."

The board would have to address the issue before it enacted the tax, he said. One option would be to delay collecting the tax until the Legislature cleans up the original legislation.

The Las Vegas Performing Arts Center Foundation hopes to actually build the center. Myron Martin, the organization's executive director, said he has known that "a little cleanup" legislation is needed.

"The county never wanted to build the center, and we never wanted them to," Martin said.

He said Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, has introduced legislation that would divert the tax revenue to his group. Moving forward with the tax plan brings the performing arts center closer to fruition.

"We're all set," Martin said. "We're very excited about this. We're ready, and I think the community is ready."

Burnette said a rough estimate of the tax revenue that would be generated comes to about $4 million to $5 million annually, so the foundation could start seeing money the first year.

Martin said the foundation has worked with Las Vegas city hall to identify a site for the project on a portion of the city-owned 61 acres on the west side of downtown. Groundbreaking on the vacant former Union Pacific railyard could occur as soon as 2006, Martin said.

Sen. Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, and chief executive of Nevada Partners, which runs the Culinary Training Academy, said the $3 million the academy would receive would be important for training thousands of new workers in the hospitality industry.

He said the academy now trains about 3,000 people annually, and the funding would allow for expansion that would help the academy reach its goal of doubling the number of graduates.

The new Wynn Resort alone is expected to need 4,000 employees this year, Horsford said.

"Any time any new property opens, there is a huge void throughout all of the properties," he said. "Unlike in past years, there is not a group of people to take those jobs.

The academy opened in 1993 and has produced about 20,000 graduates, Horsford said. The focus is on workers who are now unemployed or are in jobs but would like to advance.

The funding from the car rental tax would allow the academy to complete an expansion of its training kitchen, build a new restaurant and a training center for housekeeping, he said.

Burnette said one group of potential car rental customers would not feel the bite of the tax if it is passed by the county commission. The law exempts locals who need to rent cars as a replacement for the regular vehicle.

The ordinance, if introduced by the county commission Tuesday, would come back in two weeks for discussion and possible enactment.