Panel ponders pilfered property taxes

By Cy Ryan (contact)

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009 | 2 a.m.

CARSON CITY — Once the economy turns around — whenever that is — Gov. Jim Gibbons will convene a special session of the Legislature to restore funding to the state government and municipalities, his staff said Tuesday.

Gibbons’ chief of staff, Josh Hicks, gave that assurance during an Assembly Taxation Committee meeting in which some committee members criticized the governor’s plan to take 4 cents of the property tax rate from Clark and Washoe counties to address the state’s budget shortfall.

To absorb the loss, Hicks said, the counties could cut government employee salaries by 6 percent, as the state is planning to do. According to statistics presented by the governor’s office, county workers are better paid than state workers.

Officials from Clark and Washoe counties said the proposed loss of property tax revenue comes as taxable property values are falling because of the poor economy.

Sabra Smith-Newby, representing Clark County, testified that 99 percent of property parcels in the county have declined in assessed value and an estimated 51.9 percent of property owners will pay less property tax this year than last.

Losing the 4 cents of property tax to the state would equate to a 10 percent reduction in Clark County’s operating budget, she said. The operating budget is currently funded with 44 cents of the property tax rate.

Assemblywoman Kathy McClain, chairwoman of the Taxation Committee, said the salaries of county workers were negotiated and the administration cannot force pay cuts. The governor’s proposal “is a little late,” McClain, D-Las Vegas, said, because the counties have built their budgets for next fiscal year.

Hicks assured the committee any cuts in county revenue are temporary and would be restored once tax revenue rebounds.

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Some legislators would consider raising the cost of a Nevada driver’s license to offset the cost of the state’s roll out of licenses that comply with the federal Real ID Act.

In January the Department of Motor Vehicles will begin issuing new licenses that meet federal criteria for how they are issued and what information they contain. Deborah Wilson, the DMV official in charge of the launch, said there will be an additional cost of $3.40 per license to meet the standards.

More than 50 percent of that cost will be covered by the federal government. And while the DMV hadn’t planned to increase the $22 cost of a driver’s license to recoup the state’s share, legislators raised the idea Tuesday during a meeting of the Assembly Ways and Means and Senate Finance subcommittees.

Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, said Nevada licenses are among the cheapest in the West. The costs range from $18 in New Mexico to $59 in Oregon, he said. The increase could be a “couple of dollars,” possibly to $25, Coffin said.

Congress passed the Real ID Act to keep terrorists from boarding planes and gaining entry to federal facilities. Pending federal legislation would penalize states that fail to comply with the act by withholding road-building money.

DMV spokesman Tom Jacobs said motorists will be able to continue driving with their standard license, but boarding an airplane will require the new identification card or a passport.

To obtain the identification cards, people will have to present several forms of ID, including a birth certificate, Social Security card, proof of residential address or passport.

The department is planning to set up a call center to answer questions about the IDs.