State lawmakers seemingly sealed the deal for an NFL stadium when they approved legislation last month requiring Clark County to impose room tax increases for that project and the expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
But that doesn’t mean the tax imposition will occur without some debate among the county’s elected officials.
Commission Chris Giunchigliani, a vocal opponent of using public money to fund a stadium, wants the tax increases for the two resort-corridor projects considered separately at the governing body’s Tuesday meeting. The problem: The stadium and convention center projects were bundled together in a bill during the special legislative session.
For that reason, Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak said he intends to have the tax increases handled together.
“We’re obligated to impose the room tax,” he said. “That’s what my ordinance calls for.”
Giunchigliani has called the bundling a “political strategy” to ensure passage of the stadium portion by the Nevada Legislature, saying the “fairest and best way to handle it” would be to discuss and vote on the matters separately at the local level. She rejects the notion that enactment of the rate increases is simply a formality the commissioners must perform; however, Giunchigliani acknowledged she likely would be the only “no” vote for the stadium-related tax hike on the seven-member board.
“No one gets to tell me how to vote,” she said.
The ordinances amend Clark County code to institute the following room tax adjustments approved by two-thirds of state legislators:
• A 0.5 percentage-point increase to fund the convention center expansion and renovation project, which state and resort leaders have hailed as necessary to keep Las Vegas competitive in attracting and retaining conventions.
• A 0.88 percentage-point increase within the gaming corridor and 0.5 percentage-point increase in outlying areas of the county to pay for the public’s $750 million portion of the stadium project. Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson has promised $650 million toward the estimated $1.9 billion project. The president of the Oakland Raiders, who is trying to move the franchise to Las Vegas, said the football team would contribute another $500 million.
The room tax would jump from 12 percent to 13.38 percent within the resort corridor and bring in an extra $1.7 billion in revenue.
The commission also will consider increasing the county’s sales tax rate by 0.1 percentage point to pay for additional officers. The Clark County Crime Prevention Act of 2016 is enabling legislation, meaning it’s not a mandate like the room-tax rate increase for the stadium and convention projects. It needs approval from a simple majority of commissioners to be enacted.
The additional sales tax revenue would be distributed in two ways simultaneously: A portion would go toward hiring 66 officers to patrol the resort corridor, and the rest would allow local police agencies to hire a combined 245 officers.
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