Senate OKs amendment on proposed sales tax

Tuesday, May 24, 2005 | 9:06 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Senate on Monday agreed to adopt an amendment by Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, to impose restrictions on a bill to raise the sales tax to hire more police in Clark County.

Cegavske said she supports more police on the street but she doesn't intend to vote for Assembly Bill 418 that allows the Clark County Commission to boost the sales tax by one-quarter of one percent. She said she opposes increasing the sales tax.

"I want to tighten down the bill," said Cegavske, whose amendment would bar the proceeds from the tax to be used to supplant or replace current funding for police.

Stan Olsen, representing Metro Police, said the amendment poses no problems. He said all of the local governments in Clark County have passed resolutions already that they will not reduce their force when the new police are available.

The Senate could vote as early as Wednesday on AB418. It would then have to return to the Assembly for agreement on amendments.

Cegavske noted that the property tax was raised 8 cents to support more police in 1988 and another 20 cents in 1996. The voters last November approved an advisory question 51.5 percent to 48.8 percent to put more police on the street by increasing the tax.

Cegavske said the one-quarter of a percent would raise close to $90 million a year.

Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, called the amendment "micromanagement," and said the Legislature is not voting for a sales tax. The bill merely allows the Clark County Commission to impose the added tax.

Carlton said Clark County should be the one to decide how the tax is distributed.

If the County Commission agrees to the increase in the tax, the rate would go from 7.5 percent to 7.75 percent in October.

In testimony earlier this month to the Senate Taxation Committee, Olsen said Metro would hire 1,278 new officers over the next 10 years. Henderson would hire 227, North Las Vegas 151 and Mesquite 19.