Commissioners postpone action on tax in Lyon

By Karen Woodmansee

Appeal Staff Writer

Approval of a service plan on how to fund proceeds from a proposed one-fourth cent sales tax for infrastructure has been postponed after a Lyon County commissioner said he felt "blindsided."

The Lyon County Commissioners voted 3-2 to continue the public hearing on the tax so that staff can work with the commission to clarify a discrepancy Commissioner Bob Milz said existed between the ordinance he proposed on Feb. 7 and what had been advertised. The tax is being considered to pay for an upgrade to the county jail in Yerington.

Commissioners LeRoy Goodman, Don Tibbals and Milz voted in favor of the continuance. Commissioners Phyllis Hunewill and Larry McPherson were opposed.

"What you are asking today is to approve what was advertised," Milz said. "What we passed wasn't this. This should have been presented at the same time I proposed this tax."

Milz said he understood the cost of the upgrade would be $10 million, but Comptroller Josh Foli advertised the amount at $25 million.

Foli said he put in the higher number in case costs where higher than $10 million, and added the commission didn't have to spend the full amount.

"The way the statute is written, it requires a service plan adopted before the tax ordinance can be adopted," he said. "The service plan can be modified down the road."

Foli said when the plan was written the amount was $14 million, $10 million in bond money plus $4 million from the Surplus Building Maintenance Account, and because the bond would be in a 20-year time period, the fund plus interest could allow the commissioners to relocate the jail in Silver Springs if they chose.

"The reason I put more money in there is because rarely do projects come in at what you project, and it's better to put more in now so that you don't have to redo the plan," he said.

Foli said the tax will be the same, whether the service plan says $25 million or $10 million, and that a figure has to be given before it goes out to bid. "The figure represents the maximum," he said.

County Manager Dennis Stark said no one was blindsided.

"This came as no surprise to any of our commissioners," he said. "We've had this discussion. Prior to that, when Dick (Faber) put on his presentation we talked $19 million or $20 million."

In December, County Engineer Dick Faber estimated the cost was $37.5 million for a new jail and $19.1 million to expand and upgrade the Yerington facility.

Stark said they were just trying to provide a funding mechanism, and that the commissioners had already established the jail as a priority.

"The jail is outdated and there are problems with capacity," he said. "We need to pass this so we can start accumulating funds no matter where the jail is located."

Goodman opposed the tax, saying now was not the time for an increase.

"Generally with the overall state of the county and economy, for us to impose a quarter-cent sales tax on the county isn't going to go over well," he said. "It's a lot to ask to do something like this."

Tibbals said expanding the current jail was what was needed now, because the federal government was demanding the upgrades due to the outdated building and overcrowding at the jail.

"There's millions of dollars difference between expanding the jail and building a new one," he said. "Fines and penalties can be more than the interest. We are only going to be bonding for $10 million. We have to come up with something or we are going to be penalized something fierce."

Silver Springs resident Don Harina encouraged the commissioners to take another look at building a jail in that community instead of upgrading the Yerington jail.

"Do I want to see a tax increase? No," he said. "But once you put the costs of transporting inmates and overtime, it might cost less to put it here. If 81 percent of the people live north of the Carson River, then I expect 81 percent of the crime is north of the Carson River."

But Milz said the issue was perception of the people, not just the ordinance.

"The ad they sent out is not what we talked about and I have a problem with that, since I have to answer to the people," he said. "The problem is they haven't got a quote as to the cost. We can't enact a tax without putting the funding mechanism first, but we sure as heck can find out what it's going to cost before we move forward."

• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 881-7351.