Letter: Water district connection fees could pay for valley's growth

The Sun article about the water district losing $29 million because of "phasing-in" connection fees identified the real reason for a sales tax increase: to subsidize growth. If they hadn't "phased in" these fees, the connection costs toward the end of the project would not rise to such ridiculous values and the main argument for a sales tax increase would be lost.

The bottom line of the sales tax issue is that it shifts the burden from growth paying 79 percent of the costs to growth only paying 50 percent. Despite the argument that tourists will be picking up a large portion of the bill, Las Vegas taxpayers will be paying far more with a tax increase than they would with a water rate increase.

Urban centers throughout the country are finding out that when growth is subsidized through taxes, it encourages sprawl and detracts from needed projects in the existing city.

What's the answer? Simple. Just continue to increase the connection fees until they make up for the lost revenue of the initial "phased-in" fees.

Thomas C. Sushinski

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