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Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011 | 6:34 p.m.
Steven Horsford
Brian Sandoval
Democratic lawmakers opened a $325 million hole in Gov. Brian Sandoval’s budget today, leverage they will try to use to make it more difficult for the Republican governor and his unified caucuses to stand by their pledge not to raise taxes.
Sandoval’s administration will have to submit either another round of cuts or more budget adjustments, according to Assembly Ways and Means Chairwoman Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, and Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas.
“It’s not a balanced budget,” Horsford said. “We need (the amendment) yesterday.”
Sandoval Chief of Staff Heidi Gansert said in a statement, "As new information becomes available, we expect numerous revisions to the budget.”
Governors in Nevada submit two-year budgets to the Legislature, which typically makes adjustments to that budget. Inevitably, there are changes as officials re-project tax revenues and how many people will use a service. Sandoval's budget did not raise taxes. But it used about $1 billion in budget gimmicks and reallocating money from other sources to balance the budget.
This “revision” will be particularly large. Horsford said the lack of this money would increase the cut to education by 7.5 percent.
At issue is what Clark County School District officials told Sandoval’s administration before he released his budget late last month. Administration officials said that the school district represented that it would have to refinance its capital construction bonds regardless of what the state did, because revenue from different tax sources was going down.
School district officials say they never gave the governor’s office that representation.
“Our recollections of this are different,” testified Jeff Weiler, chief financial officer for Clark County schools, to a joint meeting of the Assembly and Senate money committees.
Now, if Sandoval takes the $300 million he proposed, “we will either have to raise taxes or refinance the mortgage, if you will, costing taxpayers in the long-term,” said Carolyn Edwards, president of the Clark County School District Board of Trustees.
Sandoval’s staff released an accounting of how the district has been spending its money, raised through a 1998 ballot initiative on school construction.
Spending in the 2010 capital funds budget was $275 million, almost half what it was the year before when district was still building schools to keep up with a growing population. But in 2011, the district approved spending $422 million on capital projects.
Much of that is for building improvements, including computer and Internet network upgrades. But it also includes $74 million in land acquisitions; $41 million for a new northwest Las Vegas bus site; and $15 million for new furniture and equipment.
Making others be responsible for services and robbing Peter to pay Paul is not balancing a budget.
They are playing chess with the financial future of our state.
Time for them to step up and make the cuts needed over all instead of this shell game.
325 million dollar hole? So what! Cut 325 million more from salaries and departments.
Its kinda like fixing a leaky pipe. It doesn't matter how big the leak is! If its a small leak, you fix it. If its a big leak, you fix it.
slick greasy brian sandoval...
a phony smiling big toothed huckster...
who favors mining over innocent children...
mining companies that destroy the land and ship profits out of state and out of country...
over the innocent children of the state he serves...
what a frickin fraud...
slick greasy brian sandoval...
suupports prostitution...
but wants to harm children...
slick greasy brian sandoval is a FRAUD!!!
They are raising taxes indirectly...if programs want to survive at the Universities the administrators are saying that they have to raise tuition so that they can "self sustain" that means that if someone wants a degree from Nevada's universities they have to pay about double what they would have paid two years ago. So A masters degree now costs $48,000.00 instead of $24,000.00 So education will now fall into the domain of the haves and the have nots will...well you can figure it out.
gaskin: Technically, that's not raising taxes. But it is raising fees. But it's only education, so no one cares. Neither can they figure it out because they were educated here.
What people of Clark County (who voted in this guy) don't understand is that they are being taxed twice. Our Gov is taking the money that should've come to Clark County (education and other services) and using it in the rest of the state. So the other counties are okay with this "no new taxes mantra". Did we not learn anything from Big Jim Gibbons?
Clark County is essance the giant ATM for the State of Nevada. Maybe we can ask the fire fighters for a loan.
lay off enough firemen to close the gap
Theone1
I agree with your analysis about Las Vegas / ATM for the state analogy.
Never will understand why Las Vegas citizens haven't applied enough pressure to have ONE of your representatives take on the mining industry, mainly located in northern rural counties.
Why can't we change the constitution?
Does the entire legislature get secret bank accounts in the Keyman Islands to shut up and let them steal us blind?
The mines can pay millions more in state taxes but I can't find one politician anywhere that will change the rules.
It would seem like Vegas and Reno representatives would be ready for some Northern Nevada payback? Just my observation.
let's make more cuts in necessary services until we set the state back 70 years instead of raising taxes a few percentage points. yay republicans
this is why you don't elect someone who vows to never ever raise taxes during a budget crisis. he'll do anything to make sure he doesn't turn into another Bush Sr. with the read my lips no new taxes moment, even if that means having the state go down the toilet while he tries to live up to his short sighted promise.
I am begining to believe that the birdman is none other than Harry Reid. Walk like a duck quack like a duck and act like a duck then it must be a duck. Nice job hiding out so long Harry. To bad your son lost. Now why dont you try working with us in Nevada and make this your home and not DC and just visit when you are on break.