Mayor Marv Teixeira's proposal to trade $10 million in sales taxes for 5 percent of the V&T Railway's ticket sales moved forward Monday when it was approved unanimously by a state commission.
Teixeira now plans to put the proposal on the November ballot as a non-binding advisory question.
"I'm not saying this is going to be an easy sell," he told the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway, "but I sure think it's worth the effort."
Carson City would give the commission the money through a one-eighth-of-a-cent sales tax increase in exchange for 99 years of a cut of ticket sales. The city has so far given $21 million in sales and room taxes to the project that is expected to cost $55 million and be finished in 2011.
The 18-mile tourist railroad is under construction and will run from Virginia City to Carson City when completed. Work could be delayed next year, however, if the project doesn't get more money.
"I don't see how we can stop now," Commissioner John Tyson said. "We've come too far and it's cost too much."
The plan would not only recoup the money the city has invested but eventually begin to generate a profit, Teixeira said. He acknowledged this could take at least 80 years.
"I want to build a revenue stream that will in fact stand the test of time," he said.
Teixeira expects 200,000 riders a year will eventually ride the train, which will likely be run by a private operator. The commission has chosen Oakdale, Calif.-based Sierra Railroad Co. as the operator, but does not have a final contract.
The mayor should have asked for a bigger cut of ticket sales, former commission member Janice Ayres said at the meeting.
"If it (the railroad) gets built, it's from Carson City," she said, "believe me."
But 5 percent is fair, Teixeira said, and asking for more might cause problems.
Workers have finished about a mile and a half of track from Gold Hill to the Overman Pit. Granite Construction, the business the commission is now contracted with, has started on about 4.5 miles from American Flat in Storey County south to Mound House in Lyon County, which is expected to be done in August.
Commissioner Larry McPherson said the plan would help finish the project, though it might not help everyone.
"Isn't this an election year?" he said.
