NORTH LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Mail-in ballots are starting to show up in voters' mailboxes, and early voting kicks off on Saturday, May 25, ahead of the June 2024 primary election.
Voters in North Las Vegas will see Questions 1 and 2 on their ballots. Both ask the public to reauthorize property tax rates that have long served as a funding source for city police, fire and public works, according to city and law enforcement leaders.
What are Questions 1 & 2?
Question 1 reads "Shall the City Council of the City of North Las Vegas be authorized to maintain a tax rate of $0.235 per $100 of assessed valuation for a period of 30 years to exclusively fund the costs to acquire, improve, equip, operate and maintain streets, parks, and fire stations? The tax rate shall commence upon the expiration of the existing tax rate on July 1, 2025. The cost for the owner of a new $100,000 home is estimated to be up to $82.25 per year. Tax rates will not be increased as a result of approval of this question."
Question 2 reads "Shall the City Council of the City of North Las Vegas be authorized to maintain a tax rate of $0.20 per $100 of assessed valuation for a period of 30 years to exclusively fund operating expenses for public safety and equipment and other expenses for the Police Department and Community Correction Center? The tax rate shall commence upon the expiration of the existing tax rate on July 1, 2027. The cost for the owner of a new $100,000 home is estimated to be up to $70 per year. Tax rates will not be increased as a result of approval of this question."
Why are these questions going before voters again?
About 30 years ago, North Las Vegas voters approved these same questions, allowing for those property tax revenues to help fund police, fire and public works. When added together, the special property tax rate approved by voters amounts to 43.5 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation. The money collected from these taxes has been placed in City Funds 268 and 287, and has exclusively been used to improve and equip city streets and parks, as well as the city's fire and police departments.
Both of these voter-approved taxes sunset after 30 years (the terms of Question 1 expire on June 30, 2025 and the terms of Question 2 expire on June 30, 2027), which is why they're going before voters once again now, as they both are set to expire within the next few years. If approved by voters, these funds will continue for another three decades under the same terms.
What exactly do Question 1 & 2 fund?
According to the City of North Las Vegas, Question 1, which feeds into City Fund 268, supports the North Las Vegas Fire Department in several ways. It partially funded the building of the city's first new fire station in more than a decade, and it helps the department purchase new fire and rescue trucks, as well as other new equipment. Fund 268 also supports the North Las Vegas Parks and Recreation Department by helping it in invest in water conservation, reducing energy consumption, upgrading the city's public safety camera system, and repairing and developing parks, pools, and recreation and community centers.
Question 2, which feeds into City Fund 287, is used by the North Las Vegas Police Department, the Community Corrections Center and Animal Protection Services. It funds about 65 positions across those departments, as well as their equipment.
What does a 'yes' or 'no' vote mean? Will my taxes go up or down?
Voting 'yes' means you will continue to pay the same property tax rate and that City Funds 268 and 287 will continue to serve the same purpose they have for the last 30 years. You will continue to pay 23.5 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation to fund streets, parks and fire stations, and you'll continue to pay 20 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation for public safety purposes — in total, 43.5 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation for these collective purposes.
If you vote no, it doesn't necessarily mean your taxes will go down, though. You'll likely still pay the same amount of taxes — the money just may not stay in your community, officials explained.
"Ironically, they will not get a tax decrease. And you might think, 'well, if I'm paying 'x' and I say no and it goes away, I'll save money.' That is not the case here because of the way our taxes are abated. So really what will happen is, those funds will still be collected in North Las Vegas and be reallocated to other jurisdictions like CCSD, the state of Nevada, other entities that collect taxes in North Las Vegas," explained Ward 3 Councilman Scott Black.
Why all the 'Save our Safety' signs around North Las Vegas?
You probably have spotted signs that read "S.O.S. Save our Safety" around the City of North Las Vegas recently. It's part of an initiative on behalf of local first responders to educate people about Question 1 and 2 ahead of the June primary.
"Everybody wants to inform voters, that's why we've launched this campaign. We have billboards, we have A frames, we have fliers going out in the mail, and starting this Saturday for the next few Saturdays, you're going to see us out walking along with fire and probably some elected officials just to hand out fliers and educate the homeowners on what questions 1 and 2 mean for everybody," said Loran McAlister, the president of the North Las Vegas Police Officers Association.
McAlister said public safety is at stake.
"Question 1 and 2 is huge to the overall safety. The city is growing by leaps and bounds. Everyday you see more houses, businesses going up. In order to keep pace with the citizens and the growth, we need to have more police officers, more firefighters, and more parks employees to help with parks," McAlister said.
With a rapidly expanding population, he said these funds are essential to ensuring the services aren't just maintained, but can grow alongside the growing tax base.
"Our average of officers per citizen, in my mind, is lower than where we want it to be," McAlister said. "We need that tax initiative to go forward so we can afford to hire more people and keep the ones we have here."
Councilman Scott Black is also working to raise awareness about Questions 1 and 2.
"We're at 275,000 residents. We're adding businesses, industry, residential growth, commercial growth, we just opened a new police station, we're opening up a new fire station later this year. These funds, these two funds really go into that investment and keeping that momentum going in North Las Vegas," Black said.
He said they're relying on the many new residents in North Las Vegas, who likely weren't there when the measures were first voted on 30 years ago, to help secure the city's future for another three decades.
"People are not familiar, they weren't here 30 years ago, but the interesting thing is, they're the beneficiaries today of these strategic investments and hopefully they see the value of what they're getting for their investment as a taxpayer," Black said.
Questions 1 and 2 will not be on the general election ballot in November; they will only appear on the ballot in North Las Vegas in the June primary. If approved, those special property taxes will continue to be collected at the same rate and used for the same purposes. If denied, several departments may have to seek other sources of funding for certain positions and projects.
