City of Las Vegas endorses bill to extend tax to fund police salaries

Ricardo Torres-Cortez, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Apr 21, 2025

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LAS VEGAS — The city of Las Vegas formally endorsed state legislation to extend a property tax that funds the salaries of more than 800 Metropolitan Police officers, or about half of its patrol force.

The City Council on Monday voted unanimously on a resolution to support Nevada Senate Bill 451 during a special meeting.

The legislation would extend a tax levy that raises $155 million annually from taxpayers in the city and unincorporated Clark County.

The current rate, established in 1996, is set to expire in 2027, prompting Sen. Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, to introduce the bill in March because Metro had expressed concern about its future budget planning

The County Commission unanimously voted Saturday on a similar resolution during its own special meeting.

The bill needs a two-third majority vote in the Legislature and Gov. Joe Lombardo’s signature.

Las Vegas Deputy City Manager Sabra Smith Newby noted that the levy’s extension would not raise taxes.

On the contrary, she said that the funds would just be “gobbled up by the rest of the tax rates that you pay in the tax bill” because of the way the state code is written.

Not extending the rate would leave Metro with a shortfall that would threaten 825 “front-facing” positions, or about a quarter of its entire commissioned officers, Newby said.

If approved at the Legislature, the bill would extend a tax of 20 cents levied on every $100 of assessed property value in the city or the unincorporated areas of the county until 2057.

That and a permanent tax of 8 cents on every $100 raises the $155 million.

The Metro property tax accounts for about $310 on a $3,100 tax bill on a house assessed at $500,000, according to Senate staff.

The special local government meetings occurred after the bill advanced out of a senate committee to the assembly Wednesday, after Clark County and Las Vegas held its last meetings of the month.

Lombardo’s office declined to comment on the bill.

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