Titus laments lack of progress on property tax

Cy Ryan and Kirsten Searer

Wednesday, March 9, 2005 | 9:08 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Even though they met for two hours behind closed doors on Tuesday, legislative leaders haven't even started debating which plans they want to implement to curb rising property taxes, Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas said.

Titus said she's frustrated at the lack of progress legislators have made on the issue, especially since they hope to have a solution in place by the end of March. Still, she said, she has put off introducing her own bill that would freeze property tax values because she's hopeful legislative leaders can come up with a unified plan. She had hoped to introduce her bill today, but has postponed it.

Right now, all proposals are still on the table, she said, including a potential cap or freeze on assessed values.

"We're just getting more into things to come to a consensus," she said, adding that another proposal put out Tuesday by Sen. John Lee, D-North Las Vegas, also won't go before a committee until legislators have more time to talk about the issue.

Still, Titus and Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, said they think legislators will come up with a solution in time to head off the property tax bills that will go in the mail in July.

"We're still waiting for additional numbers to be run by our staff," Perkins said.

Lee, a freshman senator, outlined a proposal Tuesday to put a 4 percent cap on property values for the next two years while more study is done on the problem.

Lee said he also wanted to put his plan into a bill draft available to the committee to solve the property tax issue that is top priority in this Legislature. He told a press conference he would urge the committee "to request that a bill incorporating these proposals be drafted and immediately schedule a date to be heard."

But Senate Taxation Committee Chairman Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, said he is holding that bill draft until there is some agreement on what to do.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said the legal and financial staff of the Legislature is already overburdened with different concepts. He said that bill drafting of all these plans is being held in abeyance until it gets some guidelines from the staff what would be legal and how it would impact every parcel in the state.

Lee said he worked with Carole Vilardo, executive director of the Nevada Taxpayers Association, and Marvin Leavitt, working for local governments, in developing the plan.

"Conceptually we support all elements but the devil is in the details," Vilardo said.

She said she would not be surprised if any plan that is adopted is challenged in the courts.

Leavitt said the plan looks like a good start but he was concerned a 4 percent cap may not provide enough revenue for local governments.

Lee plans to create a $20 million fund from the state surplus to help local governments that may suffer some adverse impact with the 4 percent limit per year.

"Some school districts may be also adversely affected by property tax changes and additional funds should be made available through the distribute school fund to meet their demands," he said.

In advocating his plan, Lee said it will set "a definite limit that will enable homeowners to budget and plan for tax payments. It will also allow local governments to plan in advance knowing how much will be available to provide basic services."

He used the example of a $330,000 home where the tax payment is $209 a month. Under the proposed reappraisal in Clark County, the annual payment would go up 39 percent to $292 a month.

His proposal for a 4 percent increase would mean a $218 payment a month this coming year and $227 in 2005-2006 tax year.

During the two year interim, the Legislative Counsel Bureau would conduct a study of the property tax system. "As you all know, at present we are working in the dark to a degree," Lee said.