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More than 600 people came to a town hall meeting Saturday where people were able to share their budget ideas and concerns with state legislators.
By Kyle B. Hansen (contact) 
Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010 | 7:21 p.m.
Steven Horsford
Sun Archives
- Gibbons seems to be backsliding on pledge to not raise taxes (2-13-2010)
- Two Democrats break ranks, call for state tax hikes (2-13-2010)
- Gibbons to sign proclamation Tuesday calling for special session (2-12-2010)
- Crackdown on uninsured drivers weighed to help fill state budget gap (2-11-2010)
- Governor plans emergency address on Nevada budget (2-7-2010)
- Governor’s speech will lay out state’s budget problems (2-7-2010)
- State budget comes up $800 million short (1-22-2010)
- Forecast: Economy will begin to rebound in mid-2011 (1-22-2010)
- Gibbons’ no-talk order further divides branches (1-22-2010)
- Special session may require help of state Supreme Court (1-10-2010)
People filled an overflow room at the Grant Sawyer Building for a town hall meeting Saturday on the state budget.
Sun Coverage
More than 600 people showed up for a town hall meeting Saturday with 20 state lawmakers to address Nevada’s budget crisis and the upcoming special session of the Legislature.
The meeting at the Grant Sawyer State Office Building in downtown Las Vegas filled three rooms and lasted nearly seven hours. More than 100 people shared their ideas about how the state could save money and what programs should or shouldn’t be cut.
State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, who moderated the event, said he benefited from the meeting.
“There were a lot of great suggestions, many of which we will follow up on and I hope will be part of a final set of solutions that balance this budget,” he said after the meeting.
As the economy continues to struggle and revenue falls, the state is facing an $881 million budget deficit.
Gov. Jim Gibbons said he will sign a proclamation on Tuesday calling the Legislature into a special session starting Feb. 23 to address the situation.
People’s comments at the town hall ranged from suggestions to raise the sales tax to lowering the sales tax.
Some said the state should tax companies headquartered outside the state while others suggested the state focus on cutting services.
The hottest topic was education as lawmakers heard from students, teachers parents and alumni of Southern Nevada’s high schools and colleges.
Jessica Lucero, the president of UNLV’s Graduate and Professional Student Association, came with many of her classmates and was one of the last people to address the legislators.
She pleaded with them not to raise student fees or cut the university’s programs. “Please raise taxes, raise revenue,” she said.
“I’m a hopeless optimist that they are actually listening and taking notes and it’s not all show,” Lucero said after the meeting. “There’s been a lot of people telling them to look at revenue and not just make cuts, so I hope it will make a difference.”
Not everyone, however, agreed.
Jerry Soderquist, who operates a catering business and is opening restaurants here, said he has found Nevada — Las Vegas in particular — unfriendly to business.
He said he hopes the state won’t raise taxes, especially sales tax, which he thinks would hurt his business. And, he said, after collecting all those taxes, he still pays other fees for his business.
“What do they do with all that money?” he asked.
Horsford said after the meeting that the Legislature will be looking at raising revenue, but that doesn’t mean higher taxes.
“I don’t feel that we need to raise taxes in the special session because of the recession that we’re in,” he said.
“There are user fees, which we heard repeatedly from the public today, that they would be willing to share along with whatever businesses or industries would also have to pay those fees, and that is a viable solution that we are looking at,” Horsford said.
A number of speakers recommended raising taxes on the mining industry. But Horsford pointed out that would require changing the state Constitution, two public votes and could take five years to accomplish.
Bonnie Peck, a teacher and member of the Clark County Education Association’s executive board, asked the Legislature not make any more cuts to schools or social services for the mentally ill.
She said a family member suffers from mental illness and is treated at Mojave Medical Center, which relies on Medicaid funding.
“That’s a huge concern of mine,” she said. “It’s because of them that she hasn’t committee suicide.”
Peck said she thought the meeting was a good opportunity for politicians to hear from their constituents.
“I think it’s important for them to face the public and be accountable for what they are doing,” she said.
Horsford agreed.
“I think it’s important that constituents know that their elected officials care. A lot of times people have this conception that we’re so far removed from the problems that they’re facing,” he said.
“We had several people who were heard today that maybe I didn’t agree with their opinion, but we heard them and that matters, because this is their government and everyone deserves to be represented in it,” he said.
Tax Mining. Tax Wal-Mart.
To tax mining, you don't have to start off with the Constitutional change, Horsford, and you should know that. There are many financial breaks that mining benefits from on the back end that can be ended.
Tax Walmart 80%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No new taxes. Do layoffs. Layoff what you need, and then an extra 5% for good measure. I know it hurts, but just do it. And everyone else can work harder. Just like we are in the private sector.
I think it's time LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL should begin to become a newspaper which strives for better reporting more virtuous and civil-minded in nature regarding important issues to our community such as education.
Michael1: You act as if the State has not lost over 10% of its workforce in this recession. Over 1400 positions have been frozen and unable to be filled. State workers are already worker harder...in fact most do the job of 5 or more in my office. Unlike the Governor's staff, we did not receive a 200% to 300% pay increase right before furlough and the health insurance increase. We basically got over an 11% Income TAX to balance the budget of the State where we ALL reside. Real nice...we get to pay ALL residents way on our families backs.
Also, keep in mind that the more of us that are laid off the longer people like YOU will wait for services since we are ALREADY dealing with having lost more than 1400 positions. State workers already work HARDER and contribute part of our paycheck every month to balance the budget...what do you contribute? Nothing! Many State workers have lost their homes to foreclosure already just like private sector. This is not a private sector versus public sector budget it is a State budget and ALL residents need to contribute to OUR State's well-being.
Basically, the State has already lost more than 10% of its workforce. More layoffs and frozen positions just mean that more of us will not patronize local business. As a result, those businesses will fail and more people will be laid off in private sector as well. We ALL lose!
A solid revenue stream needs to be developed. One that will support needed institutions at a level so that the governor doesn't condemn under performing programs which are severely underfunded.
Wow, seven hours!!
Was Hosford parked legally?
http://www.ktnv.com/global/story.asp?s=1...
I am a state employee. Whenever I ask someone to guess my salary, the guesses are always a minimum of half again as much as I am paid, and usually about twice as much. This suggests to me that a lot of people actually believe the garbage the R-J and the Chamber of Commerce spew about state employees. That said, anyone who thinks Nevada is "unfriendly" to business has got to be auditioning for a comedy club. Mining underpays. Large businesses underpay. Simply put, they can afford to pay more. Meanwhile, I have a question: if my salary is to be cut, when did Nevada legalize personal income taxes?
Did anyone read this article in the Sun on Thursday. A fireman that made almost $200,000 in 2009 wants the county to help his "side business".
Are you sure there aren't ANY more cuts that should be made?
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/feb...
All we do in the DPS (dreaded private sector) is pay and pay, taxes and fees all going up. The government burns through our money with no regard or respect for where it came from...our hard work. I say screw you I am not paying another dime, and I don't want any of your crummy services, if you worked in the DPS you would be out of business.
1. We need to remove the Corporation as Person things from Federal rule books.
2. At the LOCAL level we need to BAN Global Corporations from creating multiple LLCs to do their local bidding.
Then we remove all the protectionist junk in the N.R.S.
Then and only then will we have a local economic environment that can fund a valid an effective Government (which we do not have now).
The Nevada Constitution requires the budget be balanced. Will the Sun be reporting on the executive and legislative branches thoughts on this law and their willful disobedience to the legal process (NRS 199.340)?
Tax the rich.
These people look like Tea Party People.
Throw them out. They don't know anything.
And to think, they are complaining about high taxes and the lack of results from on elected officials.
A number of speakers recommended raising taxes on the mining industry. But Horsford pointed out that would require changing the state Constitution, two public votes and could take five years to accomplish.
---------------
So? Get started? Plan for the future. That's what RESPONSIBLE leaders do.
Many of the above comments are the exact reason why we should have government power decentralized as far as possible.
Want to tax Wal-Mart 80% fine do it in your local community. I don't want other people's bad ideas ruining my life. We need to decentralize power so we can maximize the happiness delivered to as diverse a population as possible. Let people decide to live in "big local government welfare states" or in populist conservative communities, or in free trading libertarian towns or in free love socialist communes. Whatever the local population wants. That is much better than imposing bad ideas on everyone else.
for clarification: the mining tax ballot initiative would NOT take 5 years. It does not require legislative approval. It must be voted on by the people in two consecutive elections and would then go into the Constitution. So, 2010, 2012, and take effect in 2013.
So, Three years!!! Three years might not seem to help much right now, but PLEASE let's not still be having this conversation in 2013. Sign the ballot petition for the mining tax!!!
Like Nevada, these states have no income tax. Would you choose one of these states over Nevada if you were a Fortune 500 company?
Alaska
Florida
South Dakota
Texas
Washington
Wyoming
You would most likely take your capital and employees to cities like Orlando, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Seattle, Spokane, and yes even Casper and Anchorage.
Wake up Nevada residents. We have Vegas and Reno! Whippee do!
If we don't start the process of investing in education, especially science and engineering, the economic malaise will never end! WE NEED BRAINS and BIOLOGY and ENGINEERING and COMPUTER SCIENTISTS!
We don't need more blackjack dealers and maids!
remember, taxes aren't the only factor businesses choose when deciding to relocate.
while alaska has the fewest taxes, it costs a tremendous amount of money to live up there in isolation.
just look at how much they spent flying mrs. palin and her family around the state. no one would tolerate that here if our governor tried to do that.
texas, for the past 25 years, has positioned itself nicely for corporations to relocate. plenty of good airports and interstates, centrally located in the nation and some excellent universities giving those corporations and educated workforce.
neimen-marcus, sw airlines, at&t, exxon, radio shack, jcpenney, texas instruments, kimberly-clark are but a few to have huge corporate headquarters in the lone star state.
Speed,
Texas is doing quite well across all realms. Florida's public education doing great too.
Investing in education isn't the answer. We've already done that. Spending more money in the same way won't produce results.
We need serious education reform to get results. Texas and Florida didn't spend their way to success.
Besides, if we need doctors and engineers we can always buy them.