Wednesday, March 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Neither legislator who oversees tax issues was informed in advance that casinos and homebuilders had devised levies on their own industries to help pay for growth in Southern Nevada.
Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, and Assemblyman Bob Price, D-North Las Vegas, chairmen of the taxation committees, were not included in discussions that led to casinos and homebuilders announcing they would chip in about $50 million combined to help build roads, water facilities and schools in Southern Nevada. Experts expect the cost to exceed $10 billion into the next century.
"The chairman of the Assembly committee was not informed," Price said.
McGinness offered a straightforward "no" when asked if he had been contacted.
McGinness and Price would not say they were bothered by being left out, but some political observers say allowing major industries to decide how much they'll pay is not in the public's best interest, because education, mental health services and other programs have been criticized as underfunded.
"I find it remarkable that tax policy has always been dictated by special interests as opposed to developed by elected public officials," said one good-government advocate who asked to remain unnamed.
Meanwhile, two key participants in the tax policy roamed the legislative halls Tuesday repairing good will that was damaged when some legislators and county commissioners argued in the newspapers over who should receive credit for making casinos pay more.
Assemblyman David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas, chairman of the Infrastructure Committee, met with senators to assure them he was working with county officials to solve growth needs. At the same time, newly appointed Clark County Manager Dale Askew was meeting with legislators in their Carson City offices.
The spat between state and county officials points up the confusion that ensued when gamers and homebuilders agreed to pay small amounts now to avert larger increases in the face of mounting public pressure.
McGinness and Price are among many key legislators not included in tax discussions.
McGinniss said a gaming lobbyist, Harvey Whittemore, phoned him one night last week to say that casino executives were staging news conferences in Las Vegas and Carson City to unveil gaming's proposal. Casinos have agreed to raise $27 million by increasing the room tax in Clark County by 1 percent and contributing room-tax money that already goes to promote special events.
On Monday, the Southern Nevada Homebuilders Association followed suit by announcing they would increase the tax on real estate transactions and ask local governments to forfeit some of the real estate or other taxes they receive to add $21 million to gaming's sum.
Critics have said casinos and homebuilders should contribute larger amounts since they benefit from growth. There have also been complaints that the taxes will hit customers and not the industries themselves.
Gaming lobbyist Billy Vassiliadis said negotiations about taxes have ensued for a year but the gaming industry tried not to hype it because news reports about how much casinos would pay might have slowed negotiations.
"The gaming industry didn't want the gaming industry's participation to serve as an obstacle to these discussions," he said.
McGinness and Price said they are agreeable to the casino plan but need to know more details about the homebuilders' proposal.
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