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Opinion
Nov. 05, 2009
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

EDITORIAL: By the code

Draconian fines not the way to go

The valley's housing meltdown has exacted a heavy toll on neighborhoods. Abandoned, foreclosed homes have brought down home values everywhere, frustrating neighbors who maintain their properties.

Southern Nevada's local governments have codes to keep residential areas from turning into junk yards and weed habitats, but 15-day cleanup notices and fines aren't much of a deterrent when the out-of-work owner has left town and an out-of-state bank holds the mortgage. Clark County, for example, currently fines property owners between $50 and $200 per day up to a maximum $10,000.

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    • County staff believe stiffer fines might get homeowners moving a bit sooner on the messes they've made. Later this month, commissioners will consider increasing code violation fines to $1,000 per day, on top of cleanup and repair costs, to a maximum of $730,000.

    "We're not looking to make money, said Joe Boteilho, the head of Clark County code enforcement. "We just want people to comply."

    But if the county is creating steep fines simply to scare homeowners, why not assess $1 million per day for code violations? For goodness sakes, white collar criminals and imprisoned thugs rarely face fines that top five figures.

    Neighborhood blight is a legitimate taxpayer concern, but big fines are the wrong approach in the current economic climate. It's counterproductive for the county to codify a fine structure it has no interest (allegedly) in collecting, and which countless homeowners can't possibly afford. In case commissioners have forgotten, the local unemployment rate is 13.9 percent.

    The best way to get neglected properties cleaned up is to get new owners and new residents, which is exactly what's happening from Spring Valley to Sunrise Manor. Investors and first-time homebuyers are snapping up discounted properties, making repairs, pulling weeds and moving in -- or moving in tenants. Either way, people are living at the address, making it easier for the county to hold someone accountable for code violations.

    The city of Las Vegas has made the mistake of putting liens on abandoned properties, which transfer to new owners who have every intention of making them habitable. Such liens discourage investors from buying blighted homes and ensure the properties remain neglected for an even longer period.

    County staff insist they're more concerned with owner-occupied homes, and say they'd like to impose even tougher penalties on rental properties, abandoned houses and foreclosures. That's an even worse idea.

    The county's current code-violation fine structure is appropriate for the offense. Anything more is just piling on.

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    Anthony Wright wrote on November 05, 2009 11:38 PM: We must protect or phony baloney jobs gentlemen.

    These people are just looking for another way to bleed the public like the ticks on a dog.


    Jubal Harshaw wrote on November 05, 2009 10:41 PM: The current fines do not deter anyone.

    We should just get rid of the fines altogether and lay off the government bureaucrats responsible for their administration.


    geometro wrote on November 05, 2009 09:25 PM: TO: clarkcountyfire department needs a pay raise -- please shut your piehole. Everytime the fire department is hiring there are hundreds of applicants for each position. I'm sure they can do just as good a job "mattress-backing" as you can. So why don't you quit and find a higher paying job? I'm sure all those applicants will accept your salary and not complain about it.


    SamT wrote on November 05, 2009 04:47 PM: Mr Boteilho's ridiculous idea smacks of bureaucratic empire building, done at the expense of others.
    Moreover, this, latest, "idea"- starkly -reveals the scant regard, and voluminous contempt, Clark county government, and its warren of officialdom, holds for constituents.

    Mr Boteilho would not have dared broach such an atrocious idea, if county government had an ethical bone amongst them.


    douglas wrote on November 05, 2009 11:59 AM: what's wrong with those who receive, to pay for what they get ?

    should the "village" pay for my home or car maintenance ? for my pet's care ? for my "lifestyle" choices ?

    what's wrong with getting an eductation to qualify for a job that will pay for my "needs" ?

    the neo-com[mmunists] would have the u.s. slump down to the couple of remaining leninist countries... cuba, and north korea as examples.


    nanners wrote on November 05, 2009 11:34 AM: Lets raise the fine to a trillion million dollars so these rich over paid republican bankers can pay for my healthcare.

    Pay up neocons


    clarkcountyfire department needs a pay raise wrote on November 05, 2009 09:54 AM:
    rory

    rory

    rory


    br wrote on November 05, 2009 08:37 AM: How about creating cleanup crews from among our unemployed construction workers. Head it up with some overpaid government administrator (Rory Reid will soon be available). Place a lein against the property that would have to be paid by the seller. That way you tap the real owner who made the mess.


    Gas Passer wrote on November 05, 2009 08:35 AM: If Joe Boteilho is looking for money, stiff the banks!


    Fred wrote on November 05, 2009 07:58 AM: How about an editorial on the $3.3 million in legal fees paid by the City of Las Vegas to the law firm of Kemp, Jones & Coulthard/

    Who selected them to defend the City?

    I believe the amount requested from the City for fixing the Darling Tennis Complex was $980,000....so what genius approved paying more than that in attorney's fees?

    And the legal fee of $3.3 million was just for arbitration. Not trial. Just imagine the cost if the City decided to appeal the arbitrator's decision to District Court, and if they lost their, to the Nevada Supreme Court.

    Can we get the name of the person who recommended the Jones, Kemp & Coulthard firm, and how the selection process was devised?

    And the name of the idiot who thought it wise to fight for three times the amount of TAXPAYER money that was requested in the first place?

    My bet it was the same idiot who keeps appealing the City's loss on First Amendment grounds of every case it files to shut down leafleters at the Fremon Street Experience, and then appeals at considerable TAXPAYER expense to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.


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