Editorial: An excellent use of taxpayer funds

WE'VE all heard it dozens, maybe hundreds, of times: It takes money to make money.

But when it comes to government, elected officials are often hesitant to increase funding for programs even when their constituents likely will see noticeable dividends. They fear retribution at election time, so they would rather take the cautious course and not increase government spending even if it would benefit the community.

Luckily for North Las Vegas, there is a public servant willing to go against the conventional wisdom. As Sun reporter Adrienne Packer wrote last week, North Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge Warren VanLandschoot is asking the North Las Vegas City Council for five new employees to allow the municipality to collect court fines that have gone unpaid for years.

"I know where the gold mine is," VanLandschoot said. "But right now I don't have the equipment to get it out." It appears to be quite a gold mine indeed. VanLandschoot estimates that $3 million worth of fines have gone uncollected. In the past, VanLandschoot said, the city tried using collection agencies to get residents to pay their fines, but it found that the companies had a hard time forcing payment since they weren't a government agency.

Along with tracking down the uncollected fines, the new staff will also help run the city's new traffic-school program, which holds its first class on Tuesday. VanLandschoot recently persuaded North Las Vegas to provide these classes itself, unlike when the city of Las Vegas provided the classes and kept the revenues they generated. VanLandschoot believes that initially the classes will bring in $150,000 a year for North Las Vegas and possibly $250,000 down the road.

VanLandschoot's creativity should be admired and the North Las Vegas City Council should give its stamp of approval to his plans as it prepares its budget.

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