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North Las Vegas seeking a bigger share of Nevada's tax allotments
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
North Las Vegas wants a bigger piece of the state's tax pie.
The City Council is asking the Legislature to consider revising Nevada's tax distribution formula so the city would get more money.
"We just cannot wait any longer," Councilwoman Anita Wood said. "We are asking for our fair share."
The Council on Wednesday approved a resolution seeking legislation to conduct a study of the state's current consolidated tax distribution formula, which officials say shorts the city.
The city also is asking to add the North Las Vegas Library District as a separate recipient in the tax distribution formula, which would provide more money to fund the city's libraries.
The state's consolidated tax distribution formula is the equation used to give allotments of state tax revenue back to communities in Nevada.
The tax pool is made up of six different taxes including the cigarette tax, liquor tax and a government services tax collected by the Department of Motor Vehicles at the time a vehicle is registered.
North Las Vegas, the state's third-largest city, received just over $31 million in consolidated tax revenues from July 2009 through May 2010, according to the state's Department of Taxation. In comparison, Las Vegas received more than $183 million, Henderson received $63.7 million and Reno got $35.3 million. The Henderson Library District got nearly $1.5 million. The Clark County Fire Protection special district received $33 million.
"We are under-funded," Wood said. "At some point, we have to do what's right and what's fair."
Some of the taxes are distributed to Nevada counties based on the county's population. Others are distributed back to the county of origin.
Tax revenues are then distributed in a "second tier" to cities within each county based on formulas that were determined years ago, according to the Nevada Department of Taxation.
North Las Vegas wants the formulas revisited.
The city has previously lobbied -- unsuccessfully -- to change the state's tax distribution formula.
"We fight for this every legislative session," Mayor Shari Buck said. "We need to keep fighting for it."
The city, like other local municipalities, has been struggling with decreased revenues, cutbacks and layoffs.
Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@review journal.com or 702-383-0285.
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HEY danthemanlv, HERE IS A NEWS FLASH, steve smith who just retired from the fire dept. made $272,000.00 a year, and will get around 200K till he dies.
Now compare that the the national average for fire fighters 50K
Boston has a 23% higher cost of living and they work for 50K
AND 70% of ALL fire fighters in the U.S. are in fact VOLUNTEERS
Ridiculous for anyone to be advocating that all wages match private sector compensation when it is a commonly known fact that private corporations are not concerned with the living standard of their employees. Before Regan was presedent, the avegrage CEO of a large corporation made about 30 times the annual salary of an average worker. After 30 years of of conservative economic policies, the average CEO now makes more than 100 times as much as the average worker. The dismantling of unions has been detrimental to working families. The standard of living has dropped significantly. Whereas before Regan most families could get by relatively comfortably with one person working, nowadays it takes both husband and wife to work full time just to get by.
The private sector is concerned only with profits. The private sector is always looking for ways to eliminate employees off of their payroll so that the stock price goes up and the CEO and other officers make more money.
SOLUTION SIMPLE; BUT THE UP-COMING PROBLEM IS THAT AS BARBARA BUCKLEY LEAVES AS SPEAKER IN CARSON CITY, she is expected to be replaced as speaker by John Ocequera, 42, assistant fire chief for North Las Vegas who made in total compensation in 2009 $151,772. He has been a legislator and double dipper since 2000. IS JOHN GOING TO DO WHAT IS NEEDED?
The real solution is SIMPLE; file BANKRUPTCY, ADMIT we are BROKE, FIRE all public personnel and RE-HIRE any who wish to work for the NATIONAL AVERAGE OF PRIVATE SECTOR (NV cost-of-living is 100 or exactly national average) GIVE same benefits , pay, pensions or- lack- there- of;; that are paid in the private sector. AND for those who whine say "thanks 4 your service and BYE- BYE" and get rid of the wh0res called politicians who put the citizens in this place by selling themselves for the public union’s votes to keep them in office!
THIS is 1st STEP= PUT AN END TO OVERPAYMENTS. There are thousands of workers willing to take the private sector national average wage and benefits.
How much is a "fair share"?
Better make the HARD choices and CUT SPENDING...A LOT!!
Our military, law enforcement, and ELECTED OFFICIALS need to HONOR THEIR OATH TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION!!!
oathkeepers.org