Editorial: Room-tax proposal is fair

Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2006 | 7:36 a.m.

Clark County is staking a reasonable claim when it says it should receive a greater portion than it does now of the room taxes generated by local hotels. Most of the hotels, after all, are located within unincorporated areas of the county.

Since 1995 the portion of the room-tax revenue dedicated for local governments, which amounted to $20 million in fiscal year 2006, has been shared among Clark County and its incorporated cities - including Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson - according to a formula based on population.

But in January the county decided that times had changed enough to warrant a new agreement. Over the past 11 years thousands of new hotel rooms have been added to the Strip, which is located in unincorporated Clark County. And the populations of the cities have grown.

This has resulted in an obvious disparity. In 2006 the cities received nearly 60 percent of the available revenue, even though hotels within their jurisdictions were accounting for only 10 percent of it.

Residents of Clark County, who have been waiting patiently for new and expanded parks, could well ask: When 90 percent of room-tax revenue is produced within Clark County, why must we settle for just a little over 40 percent?

Good question. And county commissioners and staff have been working on a new formula to address it.

The county proposes a base share for the cities equal to their 2006 receipts. But revenue growth in the years ahead would be distributed according to where it was collected.

We see the county's proposal as fair, as long as its increased revenue is dedicated to regional amenities, such as parks, that would serve city and county residents alike. The county has plans for $356 million worth of regional parks construction, and it would be a boon to the quality of life here if those plans could be accelerated.