County commissioners call for rewrite of language for fuel tax ballot question

Although Clark County commissioners support asking voters to continue increasing a tax on fuel, commissioners are wringing their hands over how exactly the ballot question will be phrased.

Commissioners considered draft question language at a meeting Tuesday but postponed a decision and directed staff to try again. The tax, which grows each year with inflation, has been in place since 2013. The question for the November general election is whether to continue the annual increases.

The draft they sent back to the drawing board: “Shall Clark County continue indexing motor vehicle fuel taxes to the rate of inflation, the proceeds of which will be dedicated solely to improving public safety and traffic congestion on Clark County streets and highways?”

Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak derided the draft as vague and took issue with describing money for road infrastructure and maintenance as “public safety,” which he said he views as pertaining to more police officers and firefighters.

“If this is just for roads, let’s just say this is for roads and highways and improvements,” Sisolak said.

Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani disagreed.

“Public safety is absolutely key. It’s all about pedestrian safety. How many people have we had killed?” she asked, adding that what might be missing from the language was the word “maintenance.”

Regional Transportation Commission General Manager Tina Quigley said money from the tax would go not just to building more roads but also to upgrading and building sidewalks and improving traffic signals, medians and lighting.

Giunchigliani noted “the key piece is ‘Shall Clark County continue.’ It’s not something new.”

The tax came out of the 2013 Legislature, which allowed Clark County to factor in inflation to charge people more at the pump.

Quigley said the tax allowed the county to pay for 221 projects that otherwise would not have been funded and create 9,000 jobs.

If voters approve continuing the annual increases, the RTC estimates being able to spend about $195 million on streets and highways. Should voters say they’ve had enough of annual tax increases at the pump, that number would drop to about $52 million, according to Quigley.

“With $52 million, you would be able to build 12 miles of roadway a year in all of Southern Nevada,” she said. “That’s it. That doesn’t include maintenance or anything else.”

The tax expires in 10 years and can never be raised more than 7.8 percent in any year.

“I want to support it because I think we need more in improved roads and stoplights, but I want the people to know what they are voting for,” Sisolak said, noting he would like voters to see numbers.

Although the language remains in the works, ads will go out calling for the public to apply to write the pro and con language for the ballot. The county needs three people to work on each side. Clark County Registrar Joe Gloria said the public will have two weeks after the ad goes out to apply. From there, he will review applications and make recommendations to the commission, which will have the final say.

Contact Bethany Barnes at bbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Find her on Twitter: @betsbarnes