Health District seeks return of $16 million cut from its budget
Southern Nevada Health District wants the court to compel Clark County to release about $16 million in property tax money that it withheld from the agency this year to ease a budget shortfall.
The health district filed a request Friday for two writs: one to force the county to release the funds and another to prevent the county from denying the district the full subsidy in the future.
In a 20-page brief, attorneys contend that a certain portion of property taxes is set aside for the agency and that state law requires the county to dispense all of this money to the district.
“The county has taken what we think is a unilateral action … that’s unfair,” said Terry Coffing, an attorney representing the district.
The health district is being punished for managing its budget well enough to build up a reserve, Coffing said.
But Commissioner Steve Sisolak said a big reason the district has a reserve is because of the county’s subsidy.
“It’s not their money, it’s taxpayers’ money,” Sisolak said.
The district is so flush that managers and workers are getting raises while most other public employees are taking pay cuts, Sisolak said.
About 3.5 cents per $100 in county property taxes is earmarked for the health district, which translated to
$21.6 million this year. County leaders withheld almost $16 million of this sum to help offset a $100 million shortfall.
District officials have said that they’ll tap their reserve to make up for the lost subsidy but that probably would be a short-term fix.
Coffing argued that the county diverting money from the agency to plug a budget hole mirrors the state grabbing revenue from the county two years ago. He cited the recent state Supreme Court ruling against the state taking $62 million from the Clean Water Coalition. The ruling prompted the governor and lawmakers to not take county property tax money this year.
County officials are using the decision as grounds for demanding the state return $180 million it grabbed in the past two years.
“It’s just an unbelievable irony that the county is trying to demand money back from the state at the same time they’re taking money from us,” Coffing said.
Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@review journal.com or 702-455-4519.
