Slicing
The Casinos Out Of A New City
(May 3rd, 2009)
AB 383, the Laughlin incorporation bill, didn’t make it out of committee on its own, but a parliamentary maneuver may move it along as a rider to another bill soon, thanks to the tireless efforts of Assemblyman Joe Hardy. The key to this may be a compromise idea of not including dissenting casinos in the new city. This may not sound like the best possible solution and frankly it’s not, but it’s infinitely better than remaining as serfs to Lord Sisolak and getting no city at all.
What Seems To Be The Point
This would address the concerns some casino operators have that an incorporated Laughlin would increase local taxes, despite the fact that Laughlin voters have consistently voted for fiscally conservative and prudent representatives who would not only not look to spend more money than is being spent in Laughlin now, but feel that much of it is in fact being wasted.
It does not however, address the concerns that the county firefighters union has that they won’t be able to continue to use Laughlin as their retirement brothel, jacking up their pre-retirement salaries to become some of the highest paid public employees in the entire state. As a result, their lobbyists continue to pummel state legislators to deep six the incorporation effort with their usual public employee union tactics of carrot (campaign money) and stick (threats of punishment at the ballot box).
But coupled with the wider issue of their refusing to accept some kind of restraint regarding salary creep during the current recession, even when all their fellow union employees are, has now brought their naked greed to the pages of both The Las Vegas Review-Journal as well as The Las Vegas Sun. Even Democratic politicians, who usually cringe before unions, are getting annoyed. Although The Laughlin Herald has not, to put it mildly, been his biggest fan, I will begrudgingly give kudos to County Commissioner Steve Sisolak for not expressing his disappointment in the same boot licking style as his fellow Democrats on the Board of County Commissioners.
What’s Really The Point
At any rate the real prize is getting control not only over the developed areas of Upper Laughlin but also the undeveloped land in South Laughlin. And as an incorporated city, we would have a more direct and focused voice addressing issues directly related to the river such as the growing silt problem in the Laughlin Lagoon and the attempts of federal bureaucrats to use obscure environmental wedge issues to control our town’s development. We have to prevent another growth killing monster like the California Coastal Commission from ever coming to life in Laughlin.
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