Monday, July 16, 2007 | 7:12 a.m.
Clark County is close to muscling Southern Nevada cities into a deal that would redistribute hotel room taxes among local governments.
Under a proposal that county commissioners will consider Tuesday, the county would begin keeping a larger portion of the money generated by the tax, leaving cities with less than they would receive otherwise.
The room tax generates a huge pot of money, nearly $214 million in fiscal 2007.
Ten percent of that is divvied among local governments. The other 90 percent goes to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Driven by enormous Strip hotels, about 90 percent of the tax comes from unincorporated Clark County. However, the county gets only about 40 percent, or $8.8 million, of the money distributed to local governments.
That's because the room tax is currently distributed based on population, not where it is generated.
The county says that's not fair and has been trying to wrest a larger share from the cities for the past year. The county's argument is simple. The money comes from Clark County, so it should come back to Clark County.
"A significant amount of this is being generated by billion-dollar projects in the county and the citizens of Clark County should have a say in where that goes," County Commission Chairman Rory Reid said.
If the proposal is approved, the county plans to use the increased revenue to help pay for large park projects, such as the Sunset Park Aquatic Center and improvements to Lone Mountain Park.
Under the county's proposed plan, all jurisdictions would continue to receive the same base dollar amount that they do now. However, future increases in revenue, which are expected to be significant as thousands of new hotel rooms pop up on the Strip over the next few years, would be distributed based on their points of origin. To soften the blow to cities, the county is proposing to phase in the new formula over five years.
"We need to keep the cities whole," Reid said. "We can't pull the rug out from under them."
The new plan would allow the county to receive about $18 million in 2012, rather than the projected $13 million. Cities, on the other hand, would see less money in 2012 than they would under the current formula. Las Vegas would get $7.2 million instead of $9.6 million, Henderson would get $3 million rather than $4 million and North Las Vegas would get $2 million instead of $2.9 million.
Each of the cities, however, would receive more in 2012 than they do now, thanks to expected growth in the tax revenue.
In a compromise move, the county is also proposing that 25 percent of its portion be dedicated to regional parks that would benefit the cities and county.
Some of the cities seem to be onboard with the plan, but others are seeking a better understanding of the proposal's effect.
The cities, however, are not negotiating from a strong platform. The county agreed to the current formula in 1995, but announced last year it was pulling out. The county's position is that it could simply keep all the money generated in unincorporated Clark County.
City officials in Henderson, North Las Vegas and Mesquite say the proposal is fair, though North Las Vegas City Manager Gregory Rose said he wants the county to define which regional parks will be built and when.
Las Vegas City Manager Doug Selby said he isn't comfortable talking about the city's position yet.
Whether county commissioners will approve the proposal isn't a sure thing either.
When county staff proposed a compromise on the issue last year, commissioners told them to get the county a better deal.
Commissioners aren't likely to be any less hard-nosed this time around. Lawmakers diverted millions of dollars in county property tax revenue to state road projects, cutting into the county's capital project budget. The county is also facing revenue cuts because of tax breaks that lawmakers gave to environmentally friendly construction projects.
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