LOOKING IN ON: CLARK COUNTY

Monday, April 23, 2007 | 7:35 a.m.

Freshman Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani raised eyebrows when she suggested during a recent meeting that the county planning commission be eliminated.

Not to worry, though. Her comment - more of an aside than a proposal - won't be on commissioners' agenda any time soon, she said Thursday.

County commissioners now appoint planning commissioners , who have the final say on most zoning and land use issues with a few exceptions, such as appeals, which are forwarded to county commissioners.

Giunchigliani, who unsuccessfully proposed eliminating planning commissions as an assemblywoman, thinks eliminating the planning commission would put more control in the hands of elected - rather than appointed - officials.

Of course, that would put more on the plates of commissioners, which would be OK if Giunchigliani got her other wish - that the county commissioner job becomes a full-time gig.

If banned from other employment, commissioners could not only take on the planning commission's agenda, but also remove the myriad potential conflicts of interest that come with holding public and private jobs, she said.

However, she said she's not planning to tackle those issues in the near future.

"I've only been here three months," she said. "I am still learning how to read the budget."

The state will not take University Medical Center out of commissioners' hands, but it still might keep a closer eye on the financially troubled public hospital.

As initially proposed, Senate Bill 533 would have put UMC under the control of an appointed hospital board rather than commissioners.

The bill, however, was amended to eliminate that language. Instead, it would require the state legislative auditor to do a performance audit of UMC. It also would require Clark County to submit quarterly reports to the state with updates about the hospital's financial health and management structure.

The deadline for the revised bill to be voted out of the Senate is Tuesday. The Assembly would then have to approve it before the measure could become law.

Commissioners also are breathing easier this week after a legislative bill that would have stripped them of McCarran International Airport failed to move forward.

Assembly Bill 581 would have put McCarran and other county-owned airports under the control of a regional airport authority consisting of representatives from several local governments and private sector officials.

The Assembly Transportation Committee failed to take action on that bill by the deadline, effectively killing the proposal unless it is inserted as an amendment in another bill.