EDITORIAL: Clark County could use that $80 million about now

Nevada lawmakers have fretted for weeks over disappointing budget projections leaving them with less money to spend. Now Clark County commissioners find themselves in a similar predicament. Too bad they frittered away millions last year on a legal settlement necessitated by bureaucratic arrogance.

On Monday, the Clark County Commission voted unanimously to tap its capital projects fund to close a $54 billion hole. County officials plan to spend $2.1 billion in fiscal 2026, which begins June 1. But revenues are already running short as the current fiscal year comes to a close, leaving a $26 million hole. In addition, a $28 million shortfall looms for the following budget cycle.

“We are starting to see that slowdown in the economy,” Jessica Colvin, the county’s chief financial officer, told the commissioners. Sales tax revenue, which makes up 43 percent of county revenue, has been particularly soft, down about 6 percent this year.

Raiding the capital projects fund is a Band-Aid, of course. If revenues continue to sag, the $56 million transfer won’t be enough. At such point, more concrete belt-tightening will be required. “These are all one-time, short-term fixes … where it would help us weather the storm,” Ms. Colvin said.

Yet short-term thinking becomes unsustainable if “the storm” endures. Rather than raid earmarked accounts to pay for ongoing expenses, the seven commissioners should make some hard choices and balance the budget, recognizing the wisdom of living within existing revenues.

Unfortunately, the county has a history of playing fast and loose with taxpayer contributions. Who can forget that the commission in 2024 blew $80 million to get out from under a land-use lawsuit in which it became entangled after various commissioners over two decades made a series of attempts to block a potential housing development near Red Rock Canyon?

Commissioner Justin Jones was a leading opponent of the development plan dating back to his days in the Legislature. Two federal judges later determined that Mr. Jones, an attorney, offered misleading testimony and intentionally deleted text messages relevant to the subsequent lawsuit over the plan. The commissioners finally decided last year to settle the issue rather than risk losing millions more for trampling the developer’s property rights under the Fifth Amendment.

That $80 million was to come out of both the capital projects kitty (sound familiar?) and a separate pot for parks and recreation projects. Bet the commissioners would love to have that money back about now. So would county taxpayers. Funny how that works.