MINUTES OF THE ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS Sixty-eighth Session February 15, 1995 The Assembly Committee on Government Affairs was called to order at 2:07 p.m., on Wednesday, February 15, 1995, in Room 4412 of the Grant Sawyer State Office Building, Las Vegas, Nevada. Chairman Douglas Bache presiding. Exhibit A is the Agenda, Exhibit B is the Attendance Roster. COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Mr. Douglas A. Bache, Chairman Mrs. Joan A. Lambert, Chairman Mrs. Deanna Braunlin, Vice Chairman Mr. P.M. Roy Neighbors, Vice Chairman Mr. Max Bennett Mrs. Marcia de Braga Mr. Pete Ernaut Mrs. Vivian L. Freeman Mr. William Z. (Bill) Harrington Ms. Saundra (Sandi) Krenzer Mr. Dennis Nolan Mrs. Gene Wines Segerblom Mrs. Patricia A. Tripple Mr. Wendell P. Williams STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Denice Miller, Senior Research Analyst OTHERS PRESENT: Garland Price, Pahrump Town Board Perry Thompson, Pahrump Town Board Steve Rainbolt, Pahrump Town Board James Lee, Pahrump Town Board John Millet, Pahrump Citizen Carolyn Millet, Pahrump Citizen Pauline Beaver, Pahrump Citizen Lewis Beaver, Pahrump Citizen Ann-Marie Chamberlain, Pahrump Citizen Garry Harris, Pahrump Citizen Arthur Jones, Pahrump Citizen Carole Nilando, NTA T. Grady, Nevada League of Cities Tom Bentz, Pahrump Citizen Clayton Luttes, Citizen John Pritchard, Pahrump Citizen George Martemess, Pahrump Citizen Patricia Pritchard, Pahrump Citizen Robert Louis, Gazette Newspaper Pat Mankins, Citizen Diana Stiles, Citizen Sally Devlin, Citizen Frederick Conte, Citizen Mike McInerney, Citizen Willie Moore, Citizen Shelly Riggs, Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Victoria Remes, Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Marilyn Duckworth, Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce Vince Bogdan, Citizen Syd McGill, Citizen Following opening announcements, Chairman Bache opened the hearing on A.B. 117. ASSEMBLY BILL 117 - Incorporates City of Pahrump by charter. The prime sponsor of the bill, Assemblyman Roy Neighbors, Assembly District 36, came forward, along with Senator Mike McGinnis, Central Nevada Senatorial District, to offer information pertaining to the charter. Mr. Neighbors stated he was taking no position on the incorporation of Pahrump, but rather was responding to a request for a bill draft to put the proposed charter before the Legislature. If A.B. 117 was enacted, the question of incorporation was entirely contingent upon the approval of the qualified voters. The present issue, he emphasized, was not the incorporation of Pahrump, but rather the charter as presented in A.B. 117, and any changes which might be needed therein. Mr. Neighbors went on to describe the city of Pahrump, the progress of town government and its incorporated city advisory board. In 1984 the people had elected a Town Board form of government. In 1991 the first incorporation bill went before the voters and was defeated. Since 1991 the town and the area had grown rapidly, he explained. Continuing, he said Pahrump currently had a valuation of $226,177,169. This represented 51 percent of the valuation of Nye County, which excluded the net proceeds. Mr. Neighbors told the committee the population of the area was between 16,000 and 20,000 with a 12 to 24 percent growth rate. He offered statistical data comparing other cities in central and eastern Nevada, and reported the assessor's office showed approximately 44,000 parcels in the Pahrump area. In response to a question from Mr. Nolan as to what factors were included in "assessed valuation," Mr. Neighbors said under Nevada law, a person's tax statement reflected 35 percent of the appraised value of a piece of property and distributions made therein. Referring to language on page 14, line 6, and page 19, line 5 regarding elections Research Analyst, Denice Miller said upon passage and approval of the bill, the clock started ticking, and this was set out in Section 3. If incorporation was approved, Section 9 set forth language which started a second clock ticking, and this dealt with the election of members of a City Council. Mrs. Segerblom and Mr. Neighbors discussed the present Town Board which was elected by the people, and the fact that Gabbs, with its 400 people, was already incorporated. Mr. Neighbors believed this was due to the size of the mine at Gabbs, but nonetheless, Gabbs was one of the smallest cities to be incorporated in the whole state. Senator McGinnis explained he represented the counties of Churchill, part of Lander, part of Eureka, White Pine, Nye and Esmeralda County, and in this instance he would neither advocate nor oppose the incorporation of Pahrump. He did support the right of Pahrump residents to decide this issue for themselves. Two questions were: 1) Did he support the passage of A.B. 117, which would put incorporation to the vote of the people? He said he did support the issue being put before the people. Whether they should incorporate was for the voters to decide. 2) The second question dealt with the proposed charter itself. Again, he said, he believed local residents who were attending the meeting could address the specific language of the bill. It was in everyone's best interest to devise the best possible charter to decide the question of incorporation for Pahrump. Ms. de Braga noted the bill had been a subject for discussion in the 1991 and the 1993 Sessions of the Legislature, and wondered if the proposition had ever progressed to the voters. In response to her question, Senator McGinnis reiterated a charter had been presented to the voters in 1991, but was defeated at the polls. Neither Senator McGinnis nor Assemblyman Neighbors knew how close the vote was. Nonetheless, the number of registered voters had doubled and there had been enough change in the community that the people of Pahrump had brought it back to the attention of Mr. Neighbors. Representing the citizens of Pahrump and speaking as the Chairman of the Pahrump Town Board, Mr. Garland Price told Ms. de Braga in 1991 there were 2,734 votes; 1,661 were against, 1,053 were in favor -- a 60/40 ratio. Mr. Price explained the population rolls in the schools had grown from 1,600 students in 1991 to 2,397 in January, 1995. Correspondingly, the registered voters in 1991 numbered 4,081; today there were 7,040. He corrected Mr. Neighbors' valuation saying that as of Monday, February 13, 1995, the Department of Taxation had quoted him a property valuation of $244,520,177. With the current demographics, he insisted, the citizens felt they would at least like to have the opportunity to vote on the issue. Changes Mr. Price thought were needed are as follows: Page 3, line 16, the language, "... otherwise provided by law or as a member of a city council or commission ..." should be changed to, "...otherwise provided by law or as a member of a board ...". Page 8, lines 40 and 41. "Create a city council of health and prescribe the powers and duties of the city council of health." Change both references to city council to board, making the language read, "Create a board of health and prescribe the powers and duties of the board of health." Page 11, line 47. Delete the words "vice chairman" and replace with the words "mayor pro tem." Page 12, line 1. Delete "vice chairman" and replace with the words "mayor pro tem." Page 12, line 8. Delete the words "chief executive and," so the language reads, "The city manager is the administrative officer of the ...". Page 12, line 29. The language should be amended to read, "...the city clerk and the mayor shall attest to the journal ...". Page 12, line 41. Language concerning the clerk's bond should be added to read, "... security as is necessary from time to time. The bond will be paid by the city." Mr. Price submitted excerpts from the "Pahrump Valley Times" (Exhibit C), dated February 3, 1995, which illustrated the rapid and great growth the community was experiencing. Another problem area described by Mr. Price was the issue of town boundaries. Although an opinion had been solicited from the District Attorney and the County Manager regarding town boundaries, they had received only an interpretation. However, this was the only advice available at the present time. Mr. Ernaut questioned page 3, lines 37 through 39, page 11, line 31 and page 13, lines 40 through 42, regarding eligibility to run for the City Board. Mr. Price said this had been thoroughly discussed two years ago by a committee working on the model charter. This model charter had been received from the Legislature and the committee had adapted it to a proposed charter for Pahrump. The committee had first suggested a two-year residency, but this had been contested in court and was subsequently reduced to one year. Mr. Ernaut opined this provision could possibly be contested in the future. Another question brought by Mr. Ernaut concerned the language on page 6, lines 6 through 10 which dealt with the open meeting law and the language referring to "emergency meeting." Mr. Ernaut quoted NRS 241.020, subsection 5 defining "emergency" as an "unforeseen circumstance ....". He believed this could affect the open meeting law. Mr. Price urged the committee, indeed, the Legislature, to make any recommendations and changes needed to conform with the Nevada Revised Statutes. Mrs. Lambert asked if the voters of Pahrump would know with some specificity what services the city would be providing, and what those services would cost in terms of taxes, before they voted. In response, Mr. Price said presently, they did not know. Their water source system was private, and was a subsidiary of Preferred Equities. As for police, fire, roads, etc., the budget they proposed for incorporation was $2.9 million, whereas they were presently operating with a budget of $971,000. Indeed, they would have to design the budget to fit the numbers. Currently, they supported their own fire system at a cost of approximately $280,000. Added services would, of course, cost more. He agreed with Mrs. Lambert there could be no increase in taxes, since NRS 354.5987, Chapters 1 and 3, specifically stated the incorporated city assumed the ad valorem tax of the unincorporated city, and Pahrump's rate of $16.44 was the lowest in the state. Chairman Bache asked if the proponents of the charter had a rough budget of how the monies would be expended. Mr. Price answered this had not been finalized, however, the fact remained they had to devise a budget which fit into the $2.9 million, and any increase in services would be a matter for voter approval. He said if the committee needed this information, they would be happy to supply it at a later date. In response to a question from Mr. Bennett, Mr. Price explained they proposed to serve an area of 364 square miles. Population, based on three residents per telephone hook-up was 17,124. He said estimates had been submitted by three different groups, but these were running from 15,000 to 17,500. Also speaking in favor of the charter, Perry Thompson, member of the Pahrump Town Board, echoed Mr. Price's remarks and simply urged the Legislature to allow them to place the charter before the voters so they could voice their desire. Steve Rainbolt, a newly elected member of the Pahrump Town Board and serving as its Vice Chairman, said he had addressed the issue of incorporation when he ran for office. He acknowledged in the past, this had been a very devisive issue, and to some degree this was still the situation, however, in efforts to determine the wishes of the voters he had found many members of the community supported at least having the opportunity to look at incorporation. Mr. Rainbolt commented on the demographics of the area, and said he did not believe the rural lifestyle was incompatible with incorporation. He admitted there were some problems with the charter, but most of those were housekeeping matters, and with the aid of the Legislative Counsel these could be cleaned up. He took exception to the reference on page 1, line 16, regarding the words "liberally construed." As a conservative, he believed this might convey the wrong impression, however, he had been told this language was proper language for the charter. As for Mrs. Lambert's question regarding whether the voters would understand what services they would have to pay for, Mr. Rainbolt was confident those discussions would take place in the 90-day period between enactment of A.B. 117 and the date on which the election would be held. Although a projected budget was not completed, this was being worked on and the additional funds received were sufficient to take over the services now being provided by the County. He did not personally believe they would have to raise taxes to provide those services, however, he said he had made it clear to the citizens of Pahrump that the City Council would, in fact, have the authority under the charter, to raise taxes. Referring to page 2, lines 1 through 3, Mrs. Segerblom asked if they had studied having five city council members with one of them being chosen mayor by the other city council members. In reply, Mr. Rainbolt said, indeed, they had discussed this on several occasions. Currently, the community had five elected Town Board members and of those five members, one of them was elected chairman by the board itself. Following discussion regarding the Boulder City system of the City Council members electing the mayor from one of their number, Mr. Rainbolt indicated he was certain the voters in Pahrump would prefer to elect the mayor rather than have him appointed by the City Council. Mr. Harrington questioned page 5, lines 8 through 13 speaking of the powers of the City Council, he believed this implied that Pahrump would be free to do anything specifically not forbidden by the higher legal entities. Mr. Rainbolt did not believe it would do this, nor did he see a conflict. A new resident of Pahrump, Lewis Beaver, cited previous experiences in small towns which had been incorporated, and he urged the committee to pass the charter. He asserted it would be an asset to the community, and he did not believe it would cost the taxpayers a great deal more than what they were already paying. Speaking for the Nevada Taxpayers Association, Carole Vilardo told the committee she had no position on the bill, but there was a question of conflict in the language of the charter with a bill passed during the 1993 Session. This could be seen on page 17, lines 9 and 10 allowing for special elections. She pointed out that special elections were eliminated last session except for fiscal emergencies. She believed it should be deleted from A.B. 117 in order to remain consistent with measures passed in the 1993 Session. Tom Grady, Executive Director of the Nevada League of Cities, took a neutral position on the bill, and said he was there only to say they would be happy to work with the people in Pahrump on their incorporation in the event the bill passed. He agreed the voters should be apprised of what to expect before voting on the charter. As to Mrs. Segerblom's suggestion that the mayor be appointed within the City Council, he said Boulder City was the only city in Nevada which did that. In response to Mr. Ernaut's question, Mr. Grady said only one other city in Nye County was incorporated, and that was Gabbs; also, the next logical one to incorporate would be Tonopah. As for what actually took place when a town incorporated, Mr. Grady said the biggest impact immediately felt was the sin taxes were being spread between the county and the town of Gabbs. When a second city incorporated, the taxes were split between the two cities and not with the county. No other negative impact was placed on the county. Mr. Grady agreed with Mr. Ernaut there was a finite pool of money, and if and when Tonopah incorporated, those taxes would be spread over three entities. This was further discussed. Testifying in opposition to the bill, Tom Bentz, a citizen and resident of Pahrump, said he believed he was speaking for the two to one voters who testified in opposition to the charter during 1991. He could see no change since the last time it went before the voters. He believed the incorporated town could barely supply the current services, and predicted an incorporated city of Pahrump would soon be called upon to provide a new sewer and water system which would cost millions of dollars to bring into compliance with federal standards. Mr. Bentz cited many perceived offenses committed by the Town Board, and predicted if it was put to a vote, it would be defeated by voter choice. Ms. Krenzer ascertained that if the charter was presented at a general election, Mr. Bentz would have no problem with it going to a vote of the people. He said he believed it was inevitable that it would go to a vote of the people. Nonetheless, he believed the charter was still flawed. He told Ms. Krenzer he had not participated in input for the charter in 1991 nor the charter in A.B. 117. He stated the people did not get to mold the charter, but it was molded by the elected officials wishing incorporation. They had held special committee hearings and accepted only the input they chose. Although Mr. Neighbors restated he took no sides in this issue, he had, indeed, attended many of the public hearings and did not perceive the Town Board operated unfairly. Mr. Bentz believed the proper way to mold the charter was to have workshops and use selected committees to work on different portions of the document. No one, he stated, had shown any appetite for reducing the size of the area governed by the charter, and he did not believe there was any way to offer services to a 364 square mile area with or without tax increases. John Pritchard, a citizen of Pahrump, told the committee he had served on the Incorporation Investigating Committee which had always met in open meetings, and they had published invitations in the newspaper for public input. As far as the boundaries, this 25-member committee had reached a consensus they would want to give the whole town the right to vote on the charter. They did not feel it was proper to shrink the size of the incorporation, and to do so would be devisive. Representing herself, Pat Mankins, a 40-year Pahrump resident and a person who had served on the Town Board, described the city organizational processes which had taken place over the years. Although it was a very independent citizenry and had been served often by volunteers, Ms. Mankins opined the city was coming of age, and the charter was a vital issue to their growth. She acknowledged there were many people against incorporation, but most people in Pahrump were willing to pay for what they really wanted and needed. She said she had no problem with the charter. They had published informational papers showing both sides of the issue, and given everyone an opportunity to apprise themselves of the matter. In conclusion, she said they simply had to have a better way of governing, and urged the Legislature to pass A.B. 117 so the charter could be placed on the ballot. Mr. Bennett asked if Ms. Mankins would be agreeable to the issue going to a general election rather than a special election. In reply she said she believed it should go to a special election. As to who would be responsible for bonding the special election, Ms. Mankins said if A.B. 117 was enacted, the new town would have to pick up the cost. If the issue failed, Nye County would have to pick up the cost. Diana Stiles, a longtime resident of Pahrump and an active member of the town government, also spoke in favor of incorporation, reiterating statements of other proponents. She emphasized presently there was no zoning available, Pahrump needed a health inspector, and as matters now stood, the citizens and managers of the city had no control over an ever-increasing growth. The proponents of the bill assured Mr. Ernaut if A.B. 117 did not pass during this session, they would, indeed, bring it back to the Legislature until it did pass. If it did not pass, Mr. Ernaut opined at some point the proponents would have a difficult time getting a Legislative audience, and it could not be a perpetual motion bill because each time it would be diminished. Ms. Stiles had confidence the people were well enough informed this time to realize the extent of the issue. Also in favor of the bill and Pahrump incorporation, Sally Devlin echoed the needs described by other proponents, and the extent of their efforts to bring all ideas into a viable charter. As for a map of the area, she said there was no map of Pahrump, they had never been surveyed by a licensed surveyor and no boundaries had been established. Mrs. Devlin offered "Information Concerning the Pahrump Town Boundaries" (Exhibit D), drew comparisons between Exhibit C and Exhibit D, and described her efforts in trying to find a definitive map. Mrs. Segerblom noted she had heard differing quotes on the square miles that would be in Pahrump. To this Ms. Devlin agreed and said none of the maps were consistent, and many conflicts had arisen because of this. Discussion followed. The Chief Operating Officer for Preferred Equities Corporation, Frederick Conte, came forward in favor of A.B. 117, and echoed sentiments offered by Pat Mankins. Basically, he believed this was an issue best resolved by the registered voters in the town of Pahrump, and he urged the Legislature to give them the opportunity to once again review the issue. Mrs. de Braga asked Mr. Conte if he had a preference between general election and special election. He stated he had no preference in this regard. The important issue was to have it brought to a vote. Mike McInerney, a voter and citizen of Pahrump, noted the problems he perceived in A.B. 117. He asked that the language on page 6, lines 6 and 7 be amended by deleting the words "or where the ordinance is of a kind specified in section 7.020 of this charter," and to read "In cases of emergency by unanimous consent of the city council ...". He especially took issue with the concept of emergency meetings and borrowing money. Discussion followed regarding inconsistencies perceived to have been a typographical error. Mr. McInerney also drew attention to other problems he perceived in the organization of the charter, as well as to the stated land area of 364 square miles in the boundaries of Pahrump. Mrs. Lambert suggested the questions Mr. McInerney had regarding the organization of the bill were more properly a matter of housekeeping for the bill drafters. Discussion followed. Testimony was heard from Willie Moore who read his testimony into the record (Exhibit E). He described for committee members the work which had been performed on the charter by a Pahrump committee operating from January to April to develop the charter. The Town Board had disbanded this committee when they were just getting down to the real issues, he believed. Had the Town Board allowed the committee to continue, he believed they could have developed a suitable and effective charter. Pahrump did, indeed, need to be incorporated in order to institute effective management, but he asked the committee to reject the charter. He asserted it should be sent back to the people for more work during the next two years. This would allow Pahrump town management to come up with a charter which would be acceptable to the majority of the people in the town. Mr. Harrington asked Mr. Moore to describe the defects in the charter, and what he believed could be done to make it more acceptable. One of the main items of objection, Mr. Moore said, dealt with the fact that if incorporated, the town would have the ability to impose fees in lieu of taxes without the vote of the people, as was happening in California. Mr. Harrington wondered if some of the amendments were made, whether it would have Mr. Moore's support. Mr. Moore stated he generally supported a charter and incorporation, however, he did not support this particular charter, and reiterated they needed more time to study the boundaries and correct deficiencies in the charter. Chairman Bache agreed the charter could still be changed at this point in time, however, once it was passed by both houses and signed by the Governor, it could no longer be changed. He requested anyone having suggested amendments to the charter, to put them in writing and send to either Mr. Bache or Mrs. Lambert. When the bill was again brought before the committee, they would consider those suggestions. The issue of boundaries was again broached by Mr. Ernaut who questioned the need for incorporation of such a large area. Mr. Moore believed the question had come up but had not been thoroughly discussed by the incorporation committee. Once those boundaries were established, it would probably be very difficult to reduce the size. Mr. Ernaut agreed with the difficulty of reducing the size, but opined it would be far more difficult to provide services to such a vast area. In an effort to answer the concerns of those who felt the Town Board would be able to impose fees without restraint, Mr. Neighbors explained that by law, whether an entity was a county, a city, a town, or an advisory board, the proposal had to be filed with the Department of Taxation and hearings had to be held on the budget. Discussion followed regarding to what extent monies could be spent without scrutiny by the Department of Taxation. Mr. Moore brought attention to page 17, lines 7 through 11 which language would allow the Town Board to spend up to $1 million without taking the matter to the voters. Mrs. Lambert pointed out Chapter 350 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, which dealt with local government borrowing, contained restrictions which would be supplemental to the language Mr. Moore was referring to. Thus both the charter and state law set forth in Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 350 had to be read together. Jim .0Traughber came forward to speak about boundaries. He said he lived in the township of Johnnie, Nevada, and indeed, received his tax billing from Johnnie. He described his rural property, and made the point his property was 20 miles from downtown Pahrump. Thus, he thought it was ludicrous for a charter to be submitted to establish a government to govern an area when no one appeared to know what that area was. When the issue of establishing a Town Board came up in 1984, a written description specifically excluded the township of Johnnie; and indeed, he believed Johnnie Township should be excluded. Attention was drawn to page 17, lines 7 through 10 again, by Mr. Ernaut, referring to indebtedness which was basically general obligation bonds. Mr. Ernaut read the appropriate sections from Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 350, which laid out a number of layers of protection which would make it impossible for the Town Board to incur the $1 million debt which had concerned Mr. Moore. Speaking strongly in opposition to the bill, Vince Bogdan, a resident of Pahrump, stated he did not believe the will of the people was being given due respect. Discussion followed. There being no further testimony on A.B. 117, Chairman Bache announced the water tour to be taken the following day, and adjourned the meeting at 4:35 p.m. RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: Iris Bellinger, Committee Secretary APPROVED: ________________________________ Chairman, Doug Bache ________________________________ Chairman, Joan Lambert Assembly Committee on Government Affairs February 15, 1995 Page