ZZZ - GMG - VEGAS INC 2011-2014

12 | 3 F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 4 | A breAth of fresh Air Step out into a 180-acre facility where everything feels more natural, more relaxing and simply, simpler. With both indoor and outdoor facilities, garden settings, entertainment options and catering by fresh local growers, there's no more scenic location to clear the corporate mind. CoNtACt Us Start planning your meeting, event or group tour by contacting our event specialist at specialevents@springspreserve.org 702-822-8779 A NAtUrAL ALterNAtiVe to the CorPorAte eVeNt. U.S. 95 and Valley View Blvd. follow us on: Job #: 089827.01 Ref #: 087786.01 Client: Springs Preserve Desc: Group Sales / Pub: Vegas Inc. Size: 7.08" x 9.25" Color: 4C In busIness by Conor Shine staff writer The Clark County Commission turned back the latest proposed versions of the More Cops sales tax. Commissioners voted 4-3 on a plan that would have increased the county sales tax by a total of .15 percent in two equal phases. Commissioners Steve Si- solak, Chris Giunchigliani and Susan Brager voted against the plan, which required five votes to pass. A second motion by Brager to increase the sales tax by a flat .075 percent went down 3-2, with Sisolak and Giunchigli- ani opposed. Commissioners Tom Col- lins and Larry Brown did not partici- pate in the second vote. Brager said she wanted to see Sheriff Doug Gillespie walk out with at least some of the sales tax increase. But she said she didn't feel comfortable autho- rizing the full .15 percent called for un- der Gillespie's plan. Brager asked county legal staff what taxeS SheriFF'S plan For More CopS dealt another deFeat by County by ed Komenda staff writer Construction crews worked to dis- mantle the scaffolding braided around two support columns of the planned SkyVue observation wheel last month. But that doesn't mean the project is dead, according to developers of the 500-foot-tall wheel planted in a dusty lot across from Mandalay Bay. "We continue to work on Skyvue, how- ever, we have no news to report at this time," David Gaffin, a Skyvue developer, wrote in an email. "The scaffolding is not needed at this time." Work on the wheel has been stalled since October 2012. developMent SCaFFolding CoMing down but SKyvue wheel Still a go, developerS Say would be necessary to rescind the sales tax authorization if the money wasn't spent as intended. She was advised that such a vote could require a five-com- missioner supermajority. The action during the meeting doomed the latest incarnation of a proposal Gillespie has pushed for more than a year. The commission failed to pass four versions of the proposal in recent months and few alternatives remain. Gillespie's latest plan called for a .15 percent increase to be phased in over two years, but only if Metro spent down a $140 million reserve to hire new offi- cers. When that fund hit $100 million, which was expected in October, the first .075 percent sales tax increase would go into effect. The second increase would be triggered when the fund hits $75 mil- lion, which officials estimate would oc- cur in October 2015. The increased tax revenue was to be used to hire 101 new officers over two years, while the reserve would be spent to fill vacant positions. Previous proposals to raise the sales tax by .15 percent or .075 percent came with no conditions for hiring officers or using the reserves and failed to garner the required supermajority. Gillespie has argued for months that the funding was crucial to close a pro- jected $30 million deficit in next year's budget and to prevent a continued slide in Metro's budget. Without the tax in- crease, the department could be forced to eliminate 700 officer positions by 2020, Gillespie said. 20140203_VI12_F.indd 12 1/30/14 12:01:49 PM

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