Editorial: A thorough investigation is required

Monday, July 25, 2005 | 9:22 a.m.

Under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998, the Clark County Aviation Department was entrusted with more than 5,000 acres of federal land near McCarran International Airport. The purpose was to prevent the encroachment of residential developments, so that complaints about airport noise could be avoided in the future. Airport officials were to sell the land to people or companies whose building plans would be compatible with the airport. Proceeds from the sales were to be returned to the federal government and eventually be spent on public uses beneficial to Nevada.

Last year, however, the Clark County Commission, which had the final say on all sales, heard complaints about many of the land transactions. Questions were being raised about whether the public was being cheated. Purchasers of many airport parcels were quickly reselling the land for millions more than they paid for it. Why wasn't the public reaping those millions in the original sale?

The questions were compelling enough for Clark County to reform the way the land is sold. In April the County Commission approved several policy changes, including transferring the responsibility for airport land sales away from airport managers and to the county's Real Property Management Department. Also, there now must be two appraisals and the land must be sold at public auction. Investigations into the previous, airport-controlled sales are under way by Metro Police, the county District Attorney's Office, the FBI and the Clark County Auditing Department. Last week the Auditing Department announced its preliminary findings to the County Commission.

One aspect of the department's report focused on appraiser Tim Morse, one of several appraisers the county had contracted with to set the value of parcels being eyed by purchasers. His appraisals, many of which were low compared to what the land went for in subsequent private sales, had raised many questions. A consultant hired by the county to review the appraisals, however, reported that Morse did not provide him with enough information about how he arrived at the land values. On Tuesday the County Commission, correctly, asked the Nevada Real Estate Division to investigate Morse's role in several of the land deals. Morse was also suspended from his county contract until the state completes its investigation.

"There were a lot of mistakes (in how the land was appraised) and you have to question whether they were honest," County Commission Chairman Rory Reid said. He is right. It is critical, for the sake of the public's trust, for government officials to vigorously investigate what happened, including whether any policies and laws were broken.