North Las Vegas tax measures enjoy strong support in early voting returns

A pair of tax measures aimed at continuing funding public safety and infrastructure costs in North Las Vegas for three more decades was enjoying strong support in early election results.

Ballot Question 1 was winning with 79.69 percent of the vote, while Ballot Question 2 was winning with 77.74 percent, according to county election results shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday.

The measures “will have a significant impact on the community by continuing to direct crucial funding to essential city services,” North Las Vegas wrote in a Wednesday statement.

In the run-up to the election, city officials maintained that approving or rejecting ballot questions 1 and 2 won’t translate to any changes to future tax bills.

However, a “yes” vote, will mean a “safer community,” Councilman Scott Black told the Las Vegas Review-Journal last month.

The two taxes date back to 1995 and 1996.

One funds fire stations, street maintenance and parks, while the other pays “exclusively” for police department operating expenses and equipment, the city said.

They break down to $0.235 and $0.20 per $100 assessed, according to the city.

A homeowner with a property valued at $410,000 — the median average in North Las Vegas — pays about $624 with the two taxes. Property taxes are levied on only 35 percent of the property’s assessed value.

The ballot measures were endorsed by the unions that represent city police and firefighters, which noted that the taxes in part fund more than 100 “critical” employee positions.

Rejecting the initiative won’t necessarily mean tax cuts, according to Black, who said that the dollars Clark County collects probably will leave the city.

The extensions, which require voter approval, were originally pitched for a special election in December when the city said it hoped voters would be able to focus on a single issue.

The Clark County Debt Management Commission unanimously approved the ballot initiatives.

Black said in May that the City Council hadn’t discussed how to cover the “budget shortfall” that would occur if the initiatives don’t garner voter approval.

However, finding out before the current taxes expire in 2025 and 2027 will give the city adequate time to plan for future budgets, Black said.

A total of 164,767 North Las Vegas residents were eligible to vote as of this week, according to Clark County figures.

For the latest primary results, visit lvrj.com/results.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.