Diesel fuel tax vote goes before Carson City supervisors

The Board of Supervisors on Thursday could decide whether to impose a tax on diesel fuel sold in Carson City by ordinance or take it to a vote of the people.

Senate Bill 48 passed during the 2019 session of the Nevada Legislature allows counties to impose a 1 to 5 cent tax on diesel fuel, either through an ordinance passed by a governing body such as the board or by a ballot question.

The Regional Transportation Commission took up the issue in September and voted 4-1 to recommend the supervisors levy a 5 cent tax on diesel through ordinance. The lone no vote was Supervisor Lori Bagwell, who said at the time she was in favor of the tax but not the method.

“I don’t mind going for the nickel because you’re absolutely right, we need the money,” Bagwell said during the RTC meeting. “But I think the public should tell us. I’d like to see it go to a ballot.”

A 5 cent tax on diesel fuel would raise roughly $400,000 annually in Carson City, according to the Nevada Association of Counties, and would be used for work on the city’s streets.

The supervisors may also vote whether to join a group of the nation’s cities and counties to receive a pre-determined slice of the settlement in an opioid lawsuit.

A so-called negotiation class was created by U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster in the national prescription opiate litigation. If Carson City joins, the city would receive $229,411 of a hypothetical $1 billion settlement, according to District Attorney Jason Woodbury.

The city is automatically included in the negotiating class unless the board votes to opt out.

In May 2018, the supervisors voted to engage Eglet Adams to seek recovery of monetary damages caused by the crisis, but the law firm has not filed suit.

The board will get an update on work to revise Title 18 of the city’s municipal code, which covers development standards. The planning department and the planning commission have been holding workshops to look at the code and eventually recommend changes to it.

The supervisors will consider a business impact statement and hear on first reading an ordinance to raise the fee by $6 on certain recorders documents. The fee increase, allowed by the Legislature, would go to fund legal services for abused and neglected children.

The Board of Supervisors meets at 8:30 a.m. in the Sierra Room, Community Center, 851 E. William St.