Smarter government

Friday, Jan. 2, 2009 | 2:04 a.m.

When times are tough, the instinct is to play it safe, to do only what it takes to get through the moment. That mind-set extends to government, too.

In a recession like this, however, it is exactly the moment to be bold, to set aside politics and do what’s right for this generation and future ones.

It is essential Nevada’s leaders and all of the state’s residents take stock and see where we want to be two, 10, 20, even 50 years from now.

Not only is the state’s tax structure rickety and volatile, but Nevada woefully underfunds education and nearly all other basic services that residents rightfully deserve. It is shameful that Nevada, which has witnessed some of the nation’s greatest prosperity from the 1990s until last year, has been one of the most miserly when providing for the education of children.

One reason for the inability to plan for the future — and, yes, to raise taxes when necessary — is political cowardice. But another roadblock is how we have structured our local governments and state government. They’re the kinds of structures that worked well in the 19th and much of the 20th century, but they’re ill-equipped to handle the grown-up needs facing Nevada now.

Let’s first look at the Nevada Legislature. It meets once every two years and then for only four months. It is apparent that convening only in odd-numbered years has outlived its time. The number of special sessions recently has grown substantially — since the end of the 2003 Legislature, there have been seven special sessions, three of which have been convened since the 2007 Legislature.

A proposal by state Sen. Joyce Woodhouse, D-Henderson, merits serious consideration. Woodhouse would add a 30-day budget session in even-numbered years, a move that would enable Nevada to stay on top of its finances. Imagine trying to run a business in which you’d have to make two-year projections estimating revenue and then not being able to constantly update and refine your operations because of changing business conditions or a different economy. Your competition either passes you by or you go bankrupt.

At the local level, a couple of possible changes come to mind in how government could run better. It doesn’t make sense that we have part-time local elected officials. If we want to avoid the conflicts of interest that naturally arise with part-time politicians, and if we want to get the best minds to handle the problems we face, then we have to pay them appropriate, full-time salaries.

Another idea that should be embraced is government consolidation of Las Vegas and Clark County. It doesn’t make sense to waste money by having two local government bodies with separate bureaucracies handling the same functions when one would do just fine. Do we really need separate parks departments for the city and the county?

We have some key services that are combined. For instance, Metro Police covers both Las Vegas and Clark County. Instead of building that new City Hall envisioned by Las Vegas leaders, we should be working toward consolidating all city and county services, saving hundreds of millions of dollars along the way.

This is just a start. There certainly are other ideas out there to make government smarter that deserve to be heard. Nevadans should look for ways to “reboot” our economy and retool our demands for government — and our elected leaders need to listen and take action. Second-best won’t do anymore.