Mayor issues apology for DUI

In his first appearance with the Carson City Board of Supervisors since his arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated earlier this month, Mayor Marv Teixeira again apologized about the incident.

"I take full responsibility for my indiscretion and will accept any penalty deemed appropriate by the court," he said near the end of the meeting Thursday, televised for cable television on channel 26 live and rerun. "I owe the residents of Carson City a sincere apology."

He also thanked the supervisors for their support.

Next, he addressed an editorial that originally appeared in The Record-Courier which suggested Carson should be "willing to share sales tax revenue" with Douglas County because Carson has profited from spending by residents of Douglas and Lyon counties "for decades."

"Everyone - Lyon, Douglas and Carson - had been going to Reno before," he said, referring to the sales tax revenue that came to the area after national retailers came to Carson. "We are not predatory. We are a region."

He also mentioned that Douglas still receives guaranteed-minimum sales tax revenue, which means that currently the sales tax revenue from sales in Douglas County is funneled into a pool with other counties and then redistributed.

With this formula, Douglas County is considered a receiver because of its relatively small but growing retail base while Carson is a giver with a more mature base.

"It gives them security, it gives them a guaranteed amount of revenue," said City Manager Linda Ritter about Douglas County. "For Carson City, our sales tax is based on our economy, and if our economy goes down we have no guarantees."

Douglas is one of nine counties that garner this component of the state's formula for distribution of proceeds. Smaller, rural counties with limited resources are ensured adequate funds to provide their residents services through this arrangement, according to the Nevada Department of Taxation.

Revenues are reviewed annually by the state to determine whether each of the participants is still eligible for it. Counties in this category with slow, sustainable growth eventually can be removed once they earn revenue 10 percent above the guaranteed minimum of the previous year.

Carson revenue ending up in Douglas through spending and sharing has "been going on for years," so additional sharing would "gut our capital city," Teixeira added.

"The retail development happening both in Douglas and in Carson is good for the entire region," said Joe McCarthy, the city's economic development manager, outside the meeting. "We need to continue to look for cooperative ways to share the infusion of new sales tax dollars to provide essential services citizens throughout the region expect."

In other business, the supervisors:

• Heard how roughly 800 sheep will be used for fuels reduction work in the city's wild areas and could start grazing as early as March 28, on the north side of Lakeview and extend to Combs Canyon Road. A second flock is proposed to graze in the C Hill area.

• Approved a tentative map for Ross Park Cottages, a planned-unit development next to Ross Gold Park in the 4700 block of Snyder Avenue.

• Added the Carson River Aquatic Trails Master Plan and a rerouting of a bicycle path from Arrowhead Drive to the south side of the Carson City Airport within the city's pathways master plan.

• Approved price breaks on water for low-income seniors.

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.