Bush land plan irks commission

Wednesday, March 2, 2005 | 9:33 a.m.

The Clark County Commission is very unhappy with the Bush administration's plan to use proceeds from the sale of federal lands around Las Vegas to pare down the ballooning federal deficit.

Under the terms of 1998's Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, 85 percent of proceeds from the Bureau of Land Management's auctions go to environmental, conservation and recreation purposes in Nevada. Since the act was passed, the auctions have generated about $1.6 billion and so far $1 billion has been earmarked for spending on projects statewide, with $445 million for local parks, trails and other projects in Clark County.

The Bush administration's proposed budget, now being debated in Congress, would put 70 percent of the revenue from land sales to the U.S. Treasury to lower the deficit. The county commission voted unanimously to send a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton objecting to the proposal.

Commissioners made the point that what makes the lands worth selling or developing has been the construction of infrastructure such as roads and other needs. Local governments have paid for that construction.

Commissioner Tom Collins said federal payments in lieu of local property taxes have never offset what local governments would have made had the land been in private hands.