Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Amid squabbles, talk of city-county consolidation resurfaces

City of Las Vegas & NV Energy Press Conference

Mikayla Whitmore

Inside the Council Chambers at Las Vegas City Hall on November 24, 2015..

Would local residents be better off if the Clark County and city of Las Vegas governments merged?

The decades-old question haunting elected officials in Southern Nevada resurfaced again Wednesday at the Las Vegas City Council meeting.

Why: Tensions have been mounting between city and county officials in recent months, particularly related to land annexations and Metro Police funding. The Clark County Commission on Tuesday decided to pursue legislation related to both hot-button issues — a move that further irked their governmental peers in the city.

The strained relationship and ongoing squabbling over resources, services and money prompted Mayor Carolyn Goodman to broach what historically has been a touchy subject.

“It’s been 15, 20 years since we even talked about consolidation,” she said. “I think we’re working against each other for what reasons I don’t know … I think it merits us really moving forward into a discussion, certainly including (the county), about consolidating.”

Goodman suggested the city submit a bill proposal that would trigger a comprehensive legislative study of potentially consolidating the city and county governments. The city can submit three bill draft requests to the Legislative Counsel Bureau by Sept. 1.

The mayor’s suggestion was not among the bill draft requests that city staff presented to council members for consideration. Staff had recommended bills that dealt with safety-related height restrictions in residential buildings, Medicaid reimbursements for emergency transports and redevelopment funds set aside for education.

The City Council postponed a decision about the bill draft requests until next week. The council will reconvene Wednesday morning to finish the conversation.

Council members, however, didn’t immediately dismiss the possibility of exploring consolidation.

Councilman Stavros Anthony said the idea conjures mixed emotions for him because, on one hand, consolidation has proved successful in other regions, but, on the other, the city functions very well with its own employees. “To muck that up by doing consolidation may not be a great idea,” he said.

Even so, Anthony said he’s not opposed to asking the Nevada Legislature to conduct a study examining the potential benefits and drawbacks of doing so.

“If it’s going to provide better service for the residents of Southern Nevada, then we need to take a look at it,” he said.

City Manager Betsy Fretwell urged “robust public outreach” in addition to any legislative study regarding a merger between the two local governments.

“There are pros and cons,” she said. “Consolidation doesn’t come cheaply.”

Serious consolidation conversations occurred here in the 1970s and again in the early ‘90s. Consolidation advocates even formed a task force and, in 1993, commissioned a consulting firm to conduct a study. Despite consolidation never moving forward, the idea has bubbled up every so often since then.

Carson City is Nevada’s only consolidated city and county. The Legislature approved the merger of Ormsby County's and Carson City’s operations in 1969, and it now is governed by the five-member Carson City Board of Supervisors.

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