EDITORIAL: Billing Mrs. Fossett - Opinion

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May. 05, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

EDITORIAL: Billing Mrs. Fossett

State wants money to cover costs of searching for her husband

Private insurance is a great idea, and not even a particularly new one.

If you or your parents grew up in a small town, chances are you're familiar with the volunteer fire department, or the volunteer ambulance company.

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Many a rural community couldn't afford these services on a professional basis, so volunteers filled the gap. Once a year, a representative came knocking at your door. You could contribute either your time, or some cash, receiving an appropriate window decal in exchange. Those who, in effect, "bought the insurance" could then call on the volunteer firemen or the local ambulance in time of need, and receive those services free.

Those who failed to join were still free to call if grandpa had chest pains or if a brush fire got out of control by the trash barrel. But they'd be billed the actual costs.

The system worked fairly well. Because it avoided the coercion of involuntary levies, it could be well worth adapting to more modern conditions.

But it's not the system currently in use in these parts. We have tax-supported fire and ambulance services. And that system extends to search and rescue.

Last Sept. 3, multimillionaire adventurer Steve Fossett took off from his friend Barron Hilton's Flying M Ranch, south of Yerrington, on what was supposed to be a short pleasure flight. He never came back.

A month-long ground and air search of the remote 20,000-square-mile area by the National Guard and Civil Air Patrol failed to turn up any sign of Fossett or his small plane. An Illinois judge declared Mr. Fossett legally dead on Feb. 15. Mr. Fossett is believed to have left an estate worth more than $10 million.

The state of Nevada figures it incurred a $687,000 search bill, even after Mr. Hilton, the hotel magnate, voluntarily sent in a $200,000 check to cover some of the costs.

Now, a spokesman for Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons says the state -- facing a fiscal crunch -- will bill Mr. Fossett's widow for that $687,000.

If welfare recipients who call an ambulance merely to take them to the hospital to pick up a prescription were going to start receiving bills -- and were actually expected to pay -- this might mark the beginning of a healthy trend toward holding people responsible for their own choices. But in fact, the Lyon County Sheriff's Department checked Mr. Fossett's credit cards and bank records, looking for evidence he'd put rescue workers to unnecessary expense as part of a plot to "fake" his own disappearance. And no such evidence could be found.

State Emergency Management Director Frank Siracusa says issuance of such a bill departs from long-standing tradition. "We do not charge the rich or the poor," he said Tuesday. "There is no precedent where government will go after people for costs just because they have money to pay for it. You get lost, and we look for you. It is a service your taxpayer dollars pay for. ... We would do the same thing for anybody. If you have a fire, we fight the fire. We don't charge."

Mr. Siracusa is not entirely correct. Some jurisdictions certainly have been known to charge part of the costs run up by those whose behavior leads to wide-scale searches. But the justification is usually that such resources were tied up unnecessarily by a prank or fraud.

If Gov. Gibbons can articulate a consistent policy that would lead to the Fossett estate being billed -- in a state where no one would dream of billing a poor family for the cost of seeking a loved one's body after a drowning in a Nevada lake or stream, say -- he should articulate it.

If everyone is to be billed -- if small-plane pilots are to be advised of this new policy in advance and given a chance to buy insurance against such an eventuality -- fine. Though we can imagine the outcry the next time a Nevada family fails to call for help in locating a senile grandparent who has wandered off into the desert until it's too late because "It would have cost too much."

Otherwise, it's hard not to figure the state is merely "going for the deep pockets," here. And that's unacceptable. Just because she's now presumably well-heeled is no reason to bill Mrs. Fossett for something that anyone else would get for free.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background. The Red Barron wrote on May 10, 2008 04:09 PM: 1ST shear danger searchers looking for Mr. Fossett was risking lives, the weather and area caused planes to be sucked away as we remember. 2ND Steve foolishly didn't do 3-4 steps that would have saves time, money, and his very life. He was in fact bigger than life and would demand his TAB to be paid! It's now self respect to the dead. Give him that much respect,Mrs.Fossett enough is left to grow old with.... I still miss you Steve and still hope your eating rattle snakes till we find you....You are one of a kind! No matter what you did, or tried it matters no longer for you took to the skys...and as I look up often I think I see your face...laughing and loving your past,your great friends and now your new resting place.....Air Born Jack wrote on May 05, 2008 06:06 PM: Dear Russ: I do not live at all beyond my means. Indeed, I waited for a good time, market and good deal to buy the house I have. It is not my fault, or any other taxpayers fault that while we were struggling and going to school to better ourselves you decided to shoot pool and hang out in the bar. PS. Even you should be smart enough to realize that even if my house is paid off, your liberal cronies are still taxing me on it. Definately not a terribly bright thing to say on your part Einstein. Sad Summerlin wrote on May 05, 2008 04:45 PM: Bad call on the governments part... This is definitely a case for discrimination against those with deep pockets. Frivolous expenses and fraud definitely should be billed at the offender's expense. It also appears that Hilton spent some of his own money on the government to help offset the costs (I wonder if he paid to have the search extended when the government asked to call it off). mfb - How many stories do we hear about search and rescue missions on mountains in Oregon and Washington where climbers get trapped by landslides, snow storms or just plain negligence? Should we start billing them now if they can afford to pay? The sheer amount of class rhetoric on this message board churns my stomach. The man lost his life. The wife is in mourning. They are human beings first and have wealth second. This man through his wealth provide opportunities and livings for countless people through the businesses he established and developed... ... all we can do is say, "sorry he's gone, but can you pick up the check". Something is definitely wrong here... lvdragonlady wrote on May 05, 2008 01:29 PM: I know that Nevada is a bit strapped for money and states are looking for anyway to generate some money but to try and bill Mrs. Fossett, just because she is rich seems very wrong to me. For heavens sakes, the woman lost her husband and now the state says she should paid for them looking for him..........Bull M H wrote on May 05, 2008 01:05 PM: The Fossetts are worth upwards of 1/2 BILLION Dollars. I know because I have seen the list of stocks that Steve owned. Why in the world hasn't Peggy sent Neveda the money spent on Steve's search WITHOUT being billed for it? DeweyOxberger wrote on May 05, 2008 12:14 PM: Wouldn't it be possible with all of his millions that he could have staged his own death and just disappeared? I mean there isn't a trace of anything related to the accident out there. Some guys will just do anything for some strange pu$$. mfb wrote on May 05, 2008 09:55 AM: correction... ...would NOT have expended close to a million dollars... mfb wrote on May 05, 2008 09:52 AM: The fact is that Mr. Fossett DID receive special treatment. If it had been anyone else of less noteriety, the State would NOT have expended close to a million dollars on search and rescue. mfb wrote on May 05, 2008 09:48 AM: The fact is that Mr. Fossett's case DID get special treatment. If grandpa dissapeared into the desert, or for that matter anyone of less notoriety that Mr. Fosset, the State would have expended close to a million dollars on search and rescue. Russ wrote on May 05, 2008 08:49 AM: OK Mr. Tax collector, here's the deal. I'ld tell you were I live but I'd be afraid you move in and trash the neighborhood. I can easily afford $10,000 a year for property taxes but I don't because I don't need to keep up with the Jones and be in debt like the rest of you. If you had any brains you might realize there are great places in this valley to live without spending your entire income on a house you can only live in one room at a time. Oh but I'm sure you need the extra space for entertaining. Read All Comments