Top Sandoval staffer: We don’t need no stinkin’ fees

Heidi Gansert, chief of staff for Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval, said Wednesday the incoming administration has no plans to increase fees for government services in order to balance the 2011-13 general fund budget.

Gansert told the Nevada News Bureau, “Given the state of our economy, the governor-elect has decided there will be no new fees or taxes in the budget ... We don’t want any obstacles to an economic recovery. We want as much money as possible spent in the private sector.”

Gansert's comments were in response to statements from Robin Reedy, chief of staff for outgoing Gov. Jim Gibbons, who said fees for government services needed to be increased so they would cover the cost of providing services. Reedy made her comments Tuesday during a taping of the show Nevada Newsmakers.

The incoming administration expects revenue for the 2011-13 biennium to be around $5.3 billion. That's about $3 billion short of what state agency leaders have sought to maintain departments for the same period.

Sandoval has promised he wouldn't raise taxes to cover the difference. That leaves cuts, consolidation and shifting more money from local to state government among available options.