Voters to get ballot question on state budget

By Kyle B. Hansen

Tuesday, July 6, 2010 | 5:26 p.m.

Clark County voters in November will be able to weigh in on whether they want the state to be able to take money from local governments.

County commissioners passed a resolution Tuesday to approve an advisory question and place it on the Nov. 2 general election ballot.

The question was proposed by the Nevada Association of Counties, which is seeking to have it on the ballot in each of the state’s 17 counties.

The association is trying to avoid a repeat of the 2009 session of the Legislature, when the state budget benefited from money taken from Clark County.

But even if voters agree with the association, the question is only advisory and doesn’t obligate the Legislature to change its actions.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, the sole commissioner to vote against the resolution, said putting the question on the ballot would be useless and the state needs to take a more long-term look at tax policy.

“To me, an advisory question on this absolutely does not get us anything. It’s a feel-good to some extent,” she said. “This would have no teeth.”

But Commissioner Larry Brown said the state is going to have an even more difficult time with the budget in the next session and voters need to send a message.

“I don’t envy the state Legislature in 2011. I think it’s going to be an extremely difficult, if not the most difficult, task they’ve ever faced,” he said. “The message is that the state needs to address their issues, and at the local level we need to face our own challenges without the anticipated state impacts that seem to have come the last few sessions.”

Commission Chairman Rory Reid, the Democratic nominee for governor, also said the county needs to have more control of its own budget.

“I think that communication has improved, but local control of these decisions should be considered,” he said.