The historic Douglas County Courthouse, 1616 Eighth St., Minden
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
There aren’t many avenues for Douglas County to raise the roughly $6 million a year to work on its roads, much less make up the $50 million backlog.
Several districts have the county pinned against the $3.64 property tax limit. County officials are relying on sales tax revenue to build the new justice center.
In answer to a question from Minden Town Board member and former County Commissioner Steve Thaler at the Feb. 27 State of the County address, Manager Jenifer Davidson said there were going to be some hard conversations about taxes with county commissioners during the budget process.
“We have real problems in Douglas County, stormwater and roads — all things this community has been talking about for over 20 years,” Davidson said at the Feb. 27 session. “It is time to start taking action. It’s time to start making a positive impact on our community. It’s time to start having those difficult conversations at the county commission level.”
Those conversations may begin next week as commissioners conduct four days of budget hearings.
According to Davidson the county collects $14,250 in gas tax and spends $49,744 for every mile of road. The county spent $3.43 million to maintain its roads in 2024.
Nevada counties don’t have the authority to impose taxes and fees that aren’t specifically approved by the Nevada Legislature.
There is one option commissioners might tackle should they determine it’s worth the trouble.
In 2019, the Nevada Legislature authorized the county to impose a nickel per gallon tax on diesel fuel sold in the county. Under the law, the tax could be implemented by four commissioners or a vote by the people.
County commissioners asked voters’ advice in November 2020 and they said no. That tax would have raised only $206,904 in the first year it was in action.
That might be why Davidson didn’t sound hopeful that gas taxes provided an answer when she explained the county’s funding challenges.
“Gas tax revenue isn’t going up,” she said. “It has actually plateaued and is declining year over year. Why is that? We have more efficient vehicles on the road and electric vehicles, are now factoring into the equation, as well. This is not a sustainable funding source for roads moving forward.”
County commissioners begin four days of budget hearings 10 a.m. Monday and Tuesday.
The county’s 2024-25 budget is $160.8 million with 41 percent of that making up the $67.05 million general fund.