Carson City will start early voting Saturday on political races ranging from president to city mayor, but voters will also have to decide on two city ballot questions. One proposal, Question No. CC1, asks voters to raise the sales tax to support the V&T Railway project, and the other, Question No. CC2, urges voters to raise property taxes for additional fire and sheriff's staff.
Both plans have been praised and criticized.
Question No. CC 1: The V&T Railway advisory ballot question
What will be the question on the ballot?
"Do you support an increase in the sales and use tax in Carson City, Nevada, of one-eighth of 1 percent for the purpose of repaying approximately $10 million in general obligation bonds (additionally secured by pledged revenues) which will be issued to pay a portion of the cost of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad construction project in return for 5 percent of the gross ridership revenues by the project for the next 99 years?"
An explanation of the advisory question as well as arguments supporting and opposing the question will also appear on the ballot.
Why did this question come up?
A state board, the Nevada Commission on the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway, is building an 18-mile tourist railroad from Virginia City to Carson City modeled after the original 19th-century Virginia and Truckee Railroad track built to handle the mining boom.
About six miles of track from Gold Hill to Mound House is almost finished. Construction on the next five-mile section that will take the track across Highway 50 into Carson City will start later this month.
Marv Teixeira, mayor of Carson City and a member of the V&T commission, wrote the plan to raise money to make sure the project will keep going.
How does it work? What will it cost?
The plan would raise the Carson City sales taxes one-eighth of a cent. The tax would sunset around 2020 and raise an additional $10 million to help make sure the track is funded to go at least through Carson River Canyon.
Carson City will get 5 percent of the tickets sales for 99 years, bringing in what supporters say will be $250,000 to $350,000 a year for the city.
The V&T commission picked Sierra & Center Pacific Railroad Co. to operate the train, but the company might be up for sale. Some members of the commission want a private businesses like the railroad company to run the train, while other members of the commission think the commission itself should operate the train once the track is finished.
Carson City has already given $21 million to the project through a one-eighth cent sales tax supervisors passed in 2005 and a room tax approved by the Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau in 2002.
The V&T commission has raised about $37 million so far for the project expected to cost at least $55 million.
Whether the advisory question is approved or rejected, Carson City supervisors have said they will respect the will of the voters. Supervisors didn't need to ask voters to raise the sales tax, but said it was the best way.
What do supporters and critics say?
Supporters say the V&T project will be a great tourist attraction that will greatly benefit Carson City's economy. This year is not the best time for a tax increase, they say, but the tax will only cost the average person about $12 a year.
Teixeira called it a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" that is a investment for Carson City.
"Hopefully, they (voters) will understand the magnitude and importance of this project," he said.
Critics of the plan point to the money Carson City has already given. They are also skeptical of the promises and success of the project.
Dan Mooney of Citizens for Private V&T Finance says he supports the project but the commission should look for alternative funding.
"Our position is that we're for the V&T, but we're against the use of taxpayers' money for the purpose of what should be accomplished by private enterprise."
Question No. CC 2: The public safety ballot question
What will be the question on the ballot?
"Shall the board of supervisors of Carson City be authorized to levy an additional property tax rate for public safety, including assisting in the funding of the Carson City Fire Department's ambulance service and wildland fire protection services; assisting in the funding of the Carson City Sheriff's Department gang unit, detention facility and funding of any other public safety agency that has an increased workload attributed to the funding provided to the Carson City Fire Department and Carson City Sheriff's Department, in the amount of up to 12.6 cents per $100 assessed valuation for a period of 30 years? The cost for the owner of a new $100,000 home is estimated to be approximately $44.10 per year. If this question is approved by the voters, any property tax levied as authorized by the question will be outside of the caps of a taxpayer's liability for property taxes established by the legislature in the 2005 session."
An explanation of the binding question as well as arguments supporting and opposing the question will also appear on the ballot.
Why did this question come up?
The city commissioned a study in 2000 that recommended more deputies, dispatchers, a fire station and another ambulance. A 2008 citizens committee recommended more staff for the fire and sheriff's departments.
City supervisors rejected a draft plan this year by the fire and sheriff's departments that would have cost more than twice what the current questions calls for. Supervisors asked the departments to cut down requests to only what was essential, and the departments came back with this question.
How does it work? What will it cost?
The plan would tax property up to 12.6 cents per $100 of assessed value, costing someone with a home assessed at $100,000 an extra $126 a year.
The tax would be outside the property tax cap passed in 2005 that limited annual property tax increases to 3 percent on homes and 8 percent on businesses.
The tax would raise between $2.5 million a year and $15.6 million a year and go toward funding seasonal wildland firefighters and a six-person ambulance team for the fire department and to funding a gang unit, four jail deputies and three dispatchers for the sheriff's department.
The tax would sunset in 30 years.
What do supporters and critics say?
Supporters say the tax is needed to keep Carson City safe. Paramedics continue to lose valuable response time on calls and are relying on surrounding counties for support, they say. Sheriff Kenny Furlong has said his department needs to stop gangs from growing before they get out of control and more deputies at the jail and dispatchers are needed desperately.
Anne Keast, who helped write the supporting argument on the ballot, said Carson City's seniors citizens like her should be especially supportive of the tax and concerned about the city's problems.
"If we don't deal with it now, we'll have a bigger problem down the road," she said.
But critics say the tax is too big and call claims by supporters about the city's problems overblown.
John Wagner, who helped write the opposing argument on the ballot, said property values will rise "astronomically" in the future and hurt people because it is outside the tax cap.
The city's problems could also be dealt with by better management by the fire and sheriff's departments, he said. The city's population is projected to shrink, he said, and, while gang crime in the form of vandalism is up, overall crime has dropped in the last decade.
"Why can't the sheriff take some officers and move them over into a gang unit," he said. "It's called management."
- Contact reporter Dave Frank at dfrank@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.