Those that pay Metro’s bills — city, county — might get more say

By Joe Schoenmann

Sunday, March 1, 2009 | 2 a.m.

The Sun reported last week on growing doubts among state and local politicians about the need for another quarter-cent sales tax increase sought by Metro Police to pay for more officers.

The issue pulled back the curtain on an effort under way in Carson City to give elected officials a stronger role in overseeing Metro.

Who funds and oversees Metro now?

Clark County pays 62 percent of Metro’s general budget; Las Vegas pays about 38 percent.

The elected sheriff, Doug Gillespie, runs Metro, but Metro’s Fiscal Affairs Committee oversees some of the department’s budget matters. The committee includes two members of the Clark County Commission and two members of the Las Vegas City Council. A fifth member, the chairman, is an unelected appointee picked by the committee from a list of candidates provided by the two localities and Metro.

So it sounds like Clark County and the city have a chance to weigh in on budgetary matters?

Yes, they have a chance. But in the view of Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, the committee doesn’t take hard looks at Metro’s budget. She said it acts more as a rubber stamp for those budgets. But, she added, that’s more a function of the state law that set up the committee.

“The statute gives the board the right to set the apportionment (currently 62 percent and 38 percent) and ask for audits. Beyond that, it doesn’t do what a normal committee does. There are no other real duties outlined in the law.”

What change is being considered?

Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, is working on a bill to give the two localities a larger voice in Metro operations. Parks helped formulate how Fiscal Affairs operates in the early 1980s. The committee was devised as a way to avoid what had become a yearly budgetary fight between the city and county after they decided to merge police agencies in the early 1970s.

What would Parks’ bill do?

That’s the critical point. The legislation would rename the body the Metropolitan Police Commission and expand its duties beyond fiscal matters and into policy decisions, similar to other statutory commissions.

Also, the bill would increase membership from five to seven, with the city and county each providing three members.

That sounds like a sweeping change, allowing county and city elected officials to delve into the workings of Metro. What does the police department think about this?

Metro’s lobbyist, Lt. Tom Roberts, hasn’t seen the bill yet, but he said the department would not support it.

“There are a lot of other governmental commissions and policies that provide oversight to the way we conduct business and we’re already led by a single, elected official. We’re already accountable to the voters and the public.”

Another problem he sees with involving the committee in police business is the potential to create another bureaucratic layer that would slow the department’s decision-making process.

“Right now, I believe we’re efficient and make timely decisions and if you look at some government agencies that have to reach a consensus (before making decisions), it’s kind of slow. That can be good and bad, but I believe the cons severely outweigh the pros.”

Anything else?

Giunchigliani wants another revision. She thinks the county should have more members on the committee than the city, given the wide disparity in the contributions. She would like to see three members from the county and just two from the city.

Is Parks up for that?

The senator told the Sun that option is “worthy of discussion.” When he first formulated membership back in the 1980s, he added, the city paid 52 percent of Metro’s budget, which led to the 50/50 city-county split on the committee.

Does this bill have a chance of passage this session?

Roberts said he hasn’t “felt the waters yet.” But he says the public thinks Gillespie is doing a good job.

“The real question people have to ask is, how does this help him do his job better and where is the need for it to be fixed?” Parks said he has “no way of guessing” how it will fare.