See, bureaucrats can work together; one-stop licensing shows it

It was a baby step, but it was a step forward when the county and three cities finally made it possible for 13,000 valley contractors to go to one spot to get a business license.

Businesspeople have complained for years about the amount of time it takes to obtain four separate licenses if they want to do business in Clark County, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson.

It took a nudge and a June deadline from the Legislature to get the four governments to stop dithering and start doing, and on June 21, the effort was celebrated with a news conference so elected officials could make whoopee about being part of this effort to consolidate services.

Mayor Carolyn Goodman recently mentioned it as one of the things she is proud of during her first year in office. Goodman can add this to the already long list of "my husband's ideas."

The idea isn't new, but actually doing it is new. Her husband banged the consolidation drum long and loud, with many others.

There have been regional approaches taken for transportation, water, air quality and flooding. But not for business licenses.

Then-Mayor Oscar Goodman said in January 2001 he planned to use his chairmanships of the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition to push for a more regional approach to growth-related issues. In 2006, he said the public, not the politicians, should push for consolidation. He also told North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon that Las Vegas should annex North Las Vegas, and he was only half-teasing.

Again and again, Goodman advocated more consolidation. Again and again, consolidation of any kind failed to happen.

Then during the 2011 Legislature, Sen. John Lee, D-North Las Vegas, introduced Senate Bill 110. The bill supported by the four governments mandated the county and three cities establish a pilot program for contractors only by June 17, 2012.

It saves contractors time and some money. They still have to pay the existing fees for four licenses, but they can do it at any of the four locations. The fees remain the same and are transferred to the appropriate jurisdiction.

Instead of costing four $50 administrative charges, it costs one, saving $150, Las Vegas spokeswoman Diana Paul said.

Assemblywoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick, D-North Las Vegas, who chaired the committee that heard the bill, made it clear during the 2011 session that the consolidation of services was moving too slowly for her taste.

"Personally, I want Clark County to know that this is a very small step in comparison to what they could be doing," she said.

She wants to see consolidation for licenses for Realtors, pool companies and others. Over the years, consolidation has been mentioned as a good idea for animal control, fire departments, information technology, cultural programming, purchasing, even government TV stations. The schools and police consolidated eons ago.

I once spent 12 days driving from the city to the county's animal shelter every day, looking for my cat, Jeanne-Paul Sartre, after the house-sitter let her out by mistake. I found the cat in my complex, but cussed the lack of consolidation every day.

Henderson City Councilman Sam Bateman is taking a cautious approach to consolidation.

"We have to be careful about going forward," Bateman said. "If it costs you more than you achieve in savings, it doesn't make any sense."

When I learned the single license for four jurisdictions was up and running, my first thought was: "What took so long?"

County officials said the process was complex, and at one point, there were 60 government employees working on crafting this blend of 13,000 contractors into a program all four jurisdictions could use. (No lightbulb jokes, please.)

It's one small step for contractors, one large step forcing bureaucracies to work together for the common good.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Email her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call her at 702-383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/Morrison