Saturday, May 29, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

SALES TAX INCREASE: Voters should expect tax question

County commissioners in favor of getting residents' advice on sheriff's proposal

Clark County voters likely will be asked in November to vote on two back-to-back sales tax increases to pay for more police officers.

Most county commissioners said this week they support Sheriff Bill Young's plan to ask voters whether they want to increase the 7.5 percent sales tax to hire as many as 2,500 new officers.

Young is expected to ask the seven-member commission for its endorsement of the advisory question on Tuesday.

"The sheriff believes we need more police officers to protect this community, and I will support allowing the people to decide whether he should get those officers," Commissioner Rory Reid said.

The proposal would increase the sales tax by a quarter-cent for four years starting in 2005 and raise it another quarter-cent indefinitely starting in 2009.

If voters approve the advisory measure, Young would try to persuade the Legislature in 2005 to give the commission authority to actually raise the sales tax.

New Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald voted against moving forward with the sales tax question during this week's meeting of the Metropolitan Police Committee on Fiscal Affairs. But Friday, she said she will likely vote in favor of it.

Boggs McDonald said her primary concern initially was that police administrators couldn't explain precisely how the revenue would be spent to enhance police protection in unincorporated areas.

"My concern is there were a lot of questions that couldn't be answered," she said. "I want to stand before constituents in my district, look them straight in the face and explain exactly how their dollars will be spent."

Boggs McDonald said she received more details from the county's finance experts. While she is comfortable enough to move forward with a ballot question, she believes the public should be given more details before voting.

"The citizens I represent won't be satisfied with a 'give us a blank check and we'll fill you in later' response," Boggs McDonald said. "It's important for county and city residents to understand how the funds will be dispersed. The last thing I would facilitate is having county residents subsidize North Las Vegas and Henderson residents."

County Commissioner Chip Maxfield backed Young's argument that the growing community needs more officers.

"As the communities continue to grow, the crime continues to go up," Maxfield said. "We all want to feel safe and maintain the quality of life we have, and that means hiring more officers."

Young said the average taxpayer spends about $5,000 a year on taxable merchandise and that the proposed tax increases would cost that average taxpayer $12.50 a year for the first four years and $25 annually after that.

The 2,500 new officers would be divvied up among the Metropolitan Police Department and police agencies in each of the cities across the county.

County Finance Director George Stevens said Young's $25 estimate seems accurate. The county has about 1.7 million people, and the tax is expected to generate $130 million a year once it increases to a half-cent.

Using those figures, each resident would pay about $38 a year. However, tourists contribute about a third of the sales tax generated in Southern Nevada. With that figured in, the average resident would pay about $25 a year for the proposed tax, he said.

"If you go out and buy a car every year, you're going to pay more than $25. But you don't buy a car every year," Stevens said. "If you buy a house and have to furnish it, you are going to pay a lot more than $25. But you don't buy a house every year."

An analysis Stevens expects to present to the commission Tuesday shows the ballot proposal would better balance the Police Department's revenue between property and sales taxes.

He said it is better to have a balance so a government agency isn't too reliant on either property or sales taxes. Property tax revenue also can fluctuate based on economic conditions, changes in state law and other factors, he said.

Now, 46 percent of the Police Department's revenue comes from property tax, and about 25 percent comes from sales tax. If the sales tax measure is adopted, 36 percent would come from property tax and about 40 percent would come from sales tax, Stevens said.

Officials from Henderson, Mesquite and North Las Vegas said they support Young's measure, in part because police hiring has not kept pace with growth and the ratio of officers to residents across the county is below the national average.

Las Vegas police have 1.69 officers for every 1,000 residents in the city of Las Vegas and unincorporated areas of the county. Young wants to increase the ratio to two officers for every 1,000 people.

North Las Vegas has 1.4 police officers per 1,000 residents and is trying to raise the ratio to 1.8 per 1,000 residents, police spokesman Tim Bedwell said.

Henderson has a ratio of 1.14 officers per 1,000 residents and city officials want to raise it to 1.5 for every 1,000 residents, Police Chief Mike Mayberry said.

Mesquite, which as 14 officers and 16,000 residents, has a ratio below one officer for every 1,000 residents.

Mesquite Mayor Bill Nicholes said the tax "could give us resources for our community."

Henderson city officials failed to get voter support in 2000 and again in 2001 for a proposal that would have increased property taxes in the city to hire more police officers.

Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson wouldn't predict whether Henderson voters would back a sales tax increase but said it's needed.

"The question is not how much taxes do we have to pay," Gibson said. "The question is what do they want for public safety from the government officials who provide it."

Las Vegas City Councilman Gary Reese, a member of the Fiscal Affairs Committee, said voters in his southeastern district would support a measure to hire more police.

At recent community meetings, 95 percent of the people were concerned about crime, Reese said. "They demand more police officers, and I have explained to them that they need to convince their neighbors to register to vote and get out and support the ballot measure."

County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, who has served as Young's campaign adviser, said it's appropriate to ask voters before going to legislators to raise the sales tax.

The county can't afford to hire more officers, and the county's Taxpayer Bill of Rights requires that public officials get voter approval for property tax increases, Woodbury said. Sales tax increases should be treated the same way, he said.

Carole Vilardo, president of the Nevada Taxpayers Association, said her organization's directors won't consider until August or September whether to support the advisory question.

She pointed out, however, that county and city of Las Vegas voters in 1996 approved a permanent property tax increase to hire more police officers. In both the county and city, about 63 percent of voters approved the tax increase, she said.

Review-Journal writer Adrienne Packer contributed to this report.