Village vs. Town - Incline Village

The chief legislative representative of Independent Incline has prepared a summary of anticipated changes needed in the state legislature next year should the idea of creating the Town of Incline Village move forward past Election Day.

According to the summary, prepared by Mary Walker, legislative lobbyist for Independent Incline, there are three main areas that need to be changed in NRS 269 — known as Nevada Town Law — before the town should be created.

If those changes are made, Walker said she sees no reason why the Washoe County Board of Commissioners wouldn’t vote to accept the idea, at some point next year, prior to June 30, 2009, the day the Incline Village General Improvement District Board of Trustees would get the final vote on whether or not to dissolve IVGID and create the Town of Incline Village.

And Walker said she doesn’t see any reason why the changes won’t be made if voters vote “yes” on Nov. 4 to the advisory ballot question, IVGID No. 7.

“In my 29 years of lobbying with the legislature, I have never seen the legislature not approve a ballot question that has been approved by the people,” Walker said. “I’m confident the legislature will honor that. That’s why we went with the vote — I wanted to give full disclosure to the public, but not only to the public. I wanted to give full disclosure to the legislature too.”

According to Walker’s legislative summary, the No. 1 biggest change needed to NRS 269 is as follows: “A GID can only reorganize into a Town if the GID and Board of County Commissioners places the issue on the ballot and the voters approve the ballot question. Conversely, a Town created by this means can only be dissolved by the approval of the Town, Board of County Commissioners and vote of the people.”

The second sentence is in reference to NRS 269.022, which deals with the procedure behind discontinuing an elected town board. According to 269.022, the county board can order a question to be put on the ballot at the next general election to dissolve the town. If voters of the town approve, the town would cease to exist and the town’s assets and liabilities “shall revert to the board of county commissioners.”

NRS 269.022 is one of the statutes that would be reworded as part of the 2009 Nevada Legislature session if voters approve the idea, because as it is currently worded, NRS 269 allows the county itself to create or dissolve unincorporated towns.

“Absolutely,” Walker said. “That’s why that sentence is there. The way current 269 is written, it allows the county to implement a town without a vote of the people. We didn’t want to the county commission to have no checks and balances, that they can just will nilly enact or dissolve the town.”

For example, if the legislative changes go through, the process to dissolve a town would become much similar to the current process under way to create it. This current idea came about, Walker said, because the Washoe County Commission voted 5-0 to put the ballot question on the agenda. Next, the IVGID Board did the same. The third step is for the voters to let the county, IVGID and the legislature know they want to move forward.

The same three-step concept would work vice-versa, Walker said. If the Town if Incline Village is adopted, and for some reason there’s a need to dissolve the town in the future, the idea first would have to be approved by the town board in a majority vote. Next, the county board would have to do the same, and then it becomes a ballot question. That ballot question represents the third step, and only Town of Incline Village residents would vote on that question, Walker said.

That’s the whole idea around changing the legislature — we don’t want the Board of County Commissioners to enact a town or dissolve a town — it should be on the sole authority of the people of the town,” Walker said. “That’s the ultimate protection, for the people, and that’s the whole thing. That’s why we need to have the vote before we can change the legislature.”

Washoe County Assistant Manager Dave Childs weighed in on the issue with similar remarks.

“It has been the county commission’s desire that the residents of Incline Village have an opportunity on the ballot to express their opinion,” Childs said. “If you look at the law, right now, today, the commissioners can vote to create the Town of Incline Village. But that hasn’t even been addressed in any of the meetings. The bottom line is this came to the board as a request by a group of people in Incline, and the board has made a good faith effort to participate.”

Childs also pointed out that the board’s 5-0 vote earlier this year to put the IVGID question on the November ballot does not mean the board is endorsing the idea — that OK vote could only come next year, prior to June 30, when it’s time for the county to render a decision on the idea.

Based on those statements, Childs offered his thoughts on the potential for the county to ever have a change of heart in the future.



“If you follow the logic that the Board of County Commissioners has held, in that it wants to do what the voters want, then the carry forward from that looks very positive,” Childs said. “I can understand that could be a concern of some folks up there who are against the idea, for the county to come and (dissolve the town), but that never has been on their (commissioners) radar. There’s nothing here at the county that would indicate to me that the county would want to do that.”

Below are a pair of items. The first is verbatim text taken from NRS 269.022, as it currently states. The second is a verbatim text of Mary Walker’s legislative summary.

NRS 269.022 Discontinuance of elected town boardProcedure. If the board of county commissioners determines that the best interests of the town are no longer served by a town board form of government, it may order the question to be put on the ballot at the next general election. If the majority of persons voting favor discontinuance of the town board form of government, the town board shall cease to function at the end of the terms of office of the incumbent members of the town board, and the government of the town and all of its assets and liabilities shall revert to the board of county commissioners.

Town of Incline Village proposed legislative changes summaryBy Mary Walker, Independent Incline legislative lobbyist

If the voters approve the advisory ballot question to reorganize the Incline Village General Improvement District into the Town of Incline Village, IVGID will go to the 2009 legislature to enact legislation to insure a smooth transition from a general improvement district into a Town. Senator Randolph Townsend has already submitted a bill draft request to the Legislative Counsel Bureau to write the legislation, should the voters approve the ballot question. It is anticipated the bill draft will pass the legislature because the legislature recognizes and honors the will of the people in passage of ballot questions.The legislation will be for Washoe County only. Since there are no other towns in Washoe County, the legislation will only affect Incline Village and no other entity. It is anticipated the legislation will be a separate section of NRS 269 relating to when general improvement districts reorganize into towns.

This legislation is needed in order to insure some of the current administrative laws which pertain to GIDs will also pertain to Towns which were formerly GIDs. The legislation does NOT give the Town any other authority other than what is already currently in the Town or GID law. Some of the specific changes needed when a GID becomes a Town is as follows:

1) A GID can only reorganize into a Town if the GID and Board of County Commissioners places the issue on the ballot and the voters approve the ballot question. Conversely, a Town created by this means can only be dissolved by the approval of the Town, Board of County Commissioners and vote of the people.

2) When a GID reorganizes into a Town, the Town will have the SAME authority as the former GID in the following areas: boundary changes; bonding; GID Board becomes new Board of the Town; same duties of clerk, treasurer, attorney and auditor as the GID; ability to provide the same list of services provided by GID; same compensation for the Town Board as the GID Board; same tax authority as the current GID; same authority to acquire and dispose property; same condemnation powers as the GID; the new Town will assume all the services, debt and liabilities and assets of the old GID; same collection process for recreation service charges, etc. There are no new authorities requested, just to allow the Town to have the SAME authority as the former GID in those administrative areas.

3) Regarding the Fire District, the draft language proposed to the Legislative Counsel Bureau is as follows: If a GID is reorganized into a Town upon the vote of the people, and if a 474 Fire District’s boundaries were within the former GID, then the new Town shall NOT provide all risk fire services within the boundaries of the Fire District. The 474 Fire District shall remain unaffected by the establishment of the Town.

It is important to note, the ballot question has similar language in it regarding the 474 Fire District shall remain unaffected. That is the intent and has always been the intent.

In conclusion, with the approval of the voters to reorganize a general improvement district to a Town, legislation will be sought to insure a smooth transition from the GID to the Town. This is also stated in the ballot question.

ATRICLE BY: Mary Walker; cited from TahoeBonanza.com

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