Franchise taxes discount OK’d

Thursday, May 5, 2005 | 9:10 a.m.

North Las Vegas has approved a $1.2 million discount of franchise taxes to Qualcomm as part of a bid to lure the technology company to the community.

San Diego-based Qualcomm has previously announced plans to build a communications campus on 32 acres on the north side of Cheyenne Avenue between Valley Drive and Allen lane. The first phase of the project will feature five buildings at a cost of $150 million and employ 150 to 200 people, city officials said.

The North Las Vegas City Council voted Wednesday to abate 2 percent of the 5 percent franchise tax that is part of a customer's electric bill. That would save the company $20,000 per month on its $1 million monthly electricity bill, officials said. That equates to $240,000 a year or $1.2 million over five years.

By bringing in the development, North Las Vegas officials project it will still receive $1.8 million in franchise taxes for Qualcomm's power use. The city will also receive about $650,000 in property taxes per year on the $150 million development.

Qualcomm opened a satellite tracking center in Las Vegas about a year ago, and it will be moving that operation to the North Las Vegas campus that is slated to open in 2007. Also on the campus will be a corporate data center and MediaFlo, which will develop video services for cell phones and other hand-held devices.

Also Wednesday, the council authorized the city to sell $140 million in bonds for funding a wastewater treatment plant. It will mark the largest capital project in the city's history, said Finance Director Phil Stoeckinger.

North Las Vegas has one of the steepest sewer rates in the region at $273 a year because 90 percent of North Las Vegas' waste is treated by Las Vegas. Building a plant should ultimately reduce residential rates by about $60 a year, said David Bereskin, the city's utility director.

The plant is expected to be constructed within the next three to four years. No site has been selected.

The city will finance the construction of the plant with monthly sewer bill revenue and other sources. The city is seeking a $30 million low-interest loan from the state and plans to apply sales tax revenue specifically earmarked for wastewater treatment. That sales tax revenue currently goes for Las Vegas handling the North Las Vegas' waste.