Local tax hikes? No. Nope. No way. A thousand times no

If you put too many elected officials in the same room for too long, their sympathy for government eventually gets the best of them. Case in point: Friday’s Local Government Summit, organized by the Nevada League of Cities and the Nevada Association of Counties.

Intended as an opportunity for city council members and county commissioners to discuss mutual challenges and successes, the meeting predictably devolved into a pity party over spending money, culminating with cries for big tax increases.

“Raise the damn property tax,” Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins proclaimed, as only he can.

“Collins is right,” said Las Vegas Councilman Steve Ross, warning of the city’s own “fiscal cliff.”

“We don’t want Band-Aids on us anymore.” Mr. Ross, perhaps remembering he’s up for re-election in a few months, later added the qualifier: “I’m not a big tax fan, but taxes are part of the solution.”

Applied Analysis principal Jeremy Aguero told the roughly 60 officials in attendance that Nevada cities and counties have seen property tax revenue decline by 50 percent during the recession as a result of falling property values and statutory limits on property tax increases. That led to griping about local governments’ lack of financial home rule – councils and commissions don’t have the power to raise local taxes – and that pesky, voter-approved constitutional amendment that requires two-thirds supermajorities in the Nevada Senate and Assembly for the Legislature to raise taxes.

Yes, property tax bills, by and large, have fallen. But so have home values, personal income and employment opportunities, while food and energy costs have gone up. This valley is hurting.

“We can’t keep up the pipes or streets or the lights anymore without having the ability to tax,” normally sensible Las Vegas Councilman Bob Coffin said.

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman showed off a previously hidden libertarian streak, calling for a $5 per person annual statewide recovery tax to be reconsidered in five years. A tax on breathing Nevada air, assessed equally to infants, unemployed laborers and casino executives? How very fair of you, Mrs. Mayor. The roughly $14 million that tax would yield each year might cover the salaries and benefits of the 140 government workers needed to collect it.

Mineral County Commissioner Cliff Cichowlaz, meanwhile, called for the creation of a state income tax, sales tax increases and perhaps even a tattoo tax.

Tattoo this: No way.

Local governments have no shortage of money. They just spend too much of it on personnel, and because of the state’s collective bargaining laws, local elected officials are happily powerless to do anything about it. They just let unionized workers’ salaries grow and grow without demanding cost-containing reforms from the Legislature. The result is the best-paid local government workforce in America.

Want evidence beyond anecdotes? Just go to one of our favorite websites, www.transparentnevada.com, and click on “Public Employee Salaries.” You can search for salaries by title, name, jurisdiction and year. Or you can bring up entire payrolls. Try to count the number of local government workers who earn more than $100,000 per year in salary and benefits. Then remember that each of these employees is in line for a generous pension and is eligible to retire up to 20 years before private-sector workers can collect Social Security. Try not to throw up.

There certainly are governments in need of improved funding. The Clark County School District is at the top of that very, very short list. It has its own problems with collective bargaining, which resulted in the elimination of more than 1,000 teaching positions this year so most of the rest of the instructional workforce could collect pay raises. State workers’ wages are not comparable with local government salaries. Look them up yourself.

A tax increase for local governments? That has about as much chance of passing as an 8 p.m. last call for alcohol.

Perhaps this roll call of elected officials just got carried away. Perhaps they went home, took a few deep gulps of air (not yet taxed at $5 per year, mind you) and thought about the leadership our communities are starved for. Perhaps they thought about better prioritizing expenses and enacting the major, long-term, cost-cutting reforms the state needs. Pension reform. Union contract negotiations that are open to the public. The elimination of binding arbitration in contract impasses. The repeal of the prevailing wage law on public works projects. Cutting back the paid leave public employees can bank year after year, allowing them to collect six-figure bonuses upon retirement.

Maybe our local government leaders will at least try to save a little of the money they already take from us before they ask for more.

Then again, maybe they really do think the residents of their cities and counties want higher taxes, even though two-thirds of Clark County voters just rejected a property tax hike for school construction, and Henderson voters refused to authorize a property tax increase equivalent to a single meal out each year to keep two library branches open.

Maybe they really are out of their minds.