Despite property tax complications, consolidation the right move

When Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman first proposed consolidating local governments in Clark County into one big honking government, it sounded sensible. Until you consider property tax ramifications.

"The fundamental problem is that the different jurisdictions all have different property tax rates," Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid said. "If they decided to consolidate every government in Southern Nevada, that would have a disproportionate impact on some citizens."

Under consolidation, property taxes would have to be equalized. Right now, the lowest property tax rates are paid by residents of unincorporated Clark County, and the tax rates become higher in Henderson, then Las Vegas, up to the highest rates in North Las Vegas. Imagine the fury of citizens who would see their property taxes go up in the name of efficiency and cost savings through consolidation.

Despite his concern about property taxes, Reid is for consolidating services. "I'm proud of what I've done to consolidate government services. There are a lot more stand-alone agencies today than when I took office."

Reid would like to see consolidation of animal control, business licensing, and regulation of liquor and gaming licenses. "We can do more without tripping on the complicated property tax issue."

He supported eliminating heavy rescue and hazardous materials services from the Clark County Fire Department and instead using Las Vegas Fire & Rescue's teams. The two county teams dedicated to heavy rescue and hazardous materials would be assigned to other jobs to reduce overtime. That proposal drew political heat from firefighters, who paid for a full-page newspaper ad saying Reid was recklessly endangering tourists on the Strip. Reid dismissed the ad as "scare tactics."

When Las Vegas City Manager Betsy Fretwell meets with her counterparts to discuss consolidation issues, the property tax differences will be the first obstacle, as well as the inevitable reluctance of some politicians to see their jobs go away and someone else's job grow in power.

The Las Vegas Police Department and Clark County sheriff's office consolidation in 1975 worked. So did the local housing authorities consolidation into the Regional Housing Commission. The Southern Nevada Health District, the Las Vegas Valley Water District, the Regional Flood Control District and the Regional Transportation District are all examples where a countywide service is preferable to a city-by-city service.

There's also a question of fairness.

Attorney Vince Consul, former president of the Nevada State Bar, said that when clients ask him about misdemeanor traffic violations, his first hope is that it occurred south of Sahara Avenue, in the county's jurisdiction, rather than north of Sahara in Las Vegas.

If they are ticketed for a misdemeanor traffic citation in the city of Las Vegas, their fine is likely to be between $100 and $200 higher than if they ran a stop sign in the county, Consul explained. "When I resolve misdemeanor traffic citations through Justice Court, the fines are in the upper one hundreds or lower two hundred dollars. In Municipal Court, fines are in the upper three hundreds and lower four hundreds."

The courts seem ripe for consolidation.

Business licensing is the particular service mentioned as an obvious candidate for consolidation. Right now, a small business, say an air-conditioning repair business, has to obtain four licenses to repair air conditioners all over the valley.

Both candidates to replace Reid, Republican Doug Bell and Democrat Mary Beth Scow, support consolidation of services and named business licensing as an obvious priority.

"Consolidation of business licenses with one-stop shopping creates a much more friendly business environment," said Carole Vilardo, president of Nevada Taxpayers Association.

Consolidating business license departments seems so popular, one wonders why they haven't already done it, especially now, when business is languishing and needs all the help it can get. Now's the time.

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