Friday, March 7, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
If tax revenues don't jump in the next two months, Budget Director Perry Comeaux said Thursday he would suggest postponing projects on the bottom of Gov. Bob Miller's proposed $300 million construction program for 1997-99.
In the cellar are three Community College of Southern Nevada projects: a $17 million education building and renovation plan at the Henderson campus and $5 million proposals to construct tech centers at Summerlin and Western High School.
The need to reduce spending has become more apparent as state gaming tax receipts fell far below projections. In the first six months of the fiscal year, the state collected $242 million in gaming taxes - 4.2 percent less than last year.
While Comeaux earlier thought the gaming tax shortfall would be offset by nearly a 13 percent increase in sales taxes, a report prepared this week shows that's not so.
Legislative fiscal analysts found the combined tax receipts from sales and gaming have increased by 3.8 percent since last July. That figure is far short of the expected 6 percent increase on which a budget was based.
The tax shortfall is equivalent to $20 million because gaming and sales taxes bring in 70 percent of the state's annual $1.5 billion in revenue.
Nonetheless, Comeaux insisted he was not particularly worried because sales tax receipts remain so high.
He hopes the gaming industry will show a rebound in its revenue report for January. The industry's report will be released early next week. While floods closed roads in northern Nevada in January, the New York-New York opened that month in Las Vegas.
The drop could be more dramatic in the long run because the Economic Forum will use tax figures for this year as the base in setting state spending for 1997-99. The forum is a group of independent business leaders who decide how much money will be available for state spending.
The forum will prepare its 1997-99 revenue forecast in late April. Gov. Bob Miller and the Legislature are bound by law to use the group's figures in setting state spending.
Comeaux said he would recommend taking care of any shortfall by removing the lowest priority items from the list of purchases and construction projects Miller wants to finance using surplus dollars. Because of the booming economy in recent years, the state had expected a $238 million surplus by June 30.
archive
