Bill for assessment districts criticized

Monday, March 7, 2005 | 9:09 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A bill sought by Clark County to create special assessment districts has run into a barrage of criticism from business and tax representatives.

After the Assembly Government Affairs Committee heard various objections and questions about the bill at a hearing Friday, Assemblyman David Parks, D-Las Vegas, chairman of the committee, said the bill would be returned to Clark County to see if the county can rally enough support for the bill.

Assembly Bill 74 would permit local governments to create special assessment districts to cover the costs of creating and/or maintaining redevelopment areas, street beautification and transportation projects.

The capability to create the districts to pay for maintenance is one of the most important features of the bill, Dan Musgrove, a spokesman for Clark County, said.

That's because property owners have the authority now to create special assessment districts to make improvements such as revitalizing an area. However, he said there is no money in some of the districts to take care of the maintenance.

Musgrove said the maintenance costs then fall on the local government, rather than the property owners who set up the assessment districts and benefitted from them.

Clark County received support from Las Vegas and some other counties for the bill.

But George Ross, representing the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, said allowing the establishment of special maintenance districts would be a "tax on a tax." He said business would "have very little due process" or say in whether these districts were created.

He said the local government could put a beautification median in the middle of the street, which would block motorists from turning left into a business.

Barry Duncan, representing the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, Gary Milliken of the Las Vegas Chapter of the Associated General Contractors and Jeanette Belz of the Associated General Contractors all spoke in opposition.

Carole Vilardo, executive director of the Nevada Taxpayers Association, said the creation of other special assessment districts raise the property values and thus there are higher property tax collections. That money should be used for the maintenance.

Vilardo also said these special maintenance districts could be created to include homeowners. And they could be established, no matter if a majority of those included protested.