April 24, 2008
Annexation Expands City Limits! And Concerns?

Photo by Dave Maxwell Holly Gatzke

By Dave Maxwell, Staff Writer

The Caliente City Council unanimously approved the annexation offer by Tuffy Ranch Properties, and certain parcels owned by the Bureau of Land Management, into the City at the April 17 public hearing. The annexation of the approximate 5600 additional acres more than doubles the size of the city.

During public comments taken just prior to the vote by Council members, Lincoln County Extension Agent Holly Gatzke stated that she felt there are some larger issues that need to be faced as they move forward. She was at the meeting to raise the questions she was not sure members of the Council had thought through as well as need to be.

Those questions related mostly to the need for increased staffing, lawyers and providing the needed expanded services to all parts of the city, including the new section, that have been and will be further mandated by state and federal agencies.

Mrs. Gatzke said the City’s hope that a Special Improvement District (SID), which the City plans to create, will provide the needed revenue “might be risky.” She said an SID possibly would not bring in enough money to pay for the services that need to be provided. She cited Lyon County, the Yerington – Dayton area, as an example, where there have been a lot of new residential developments in recent years and, “studies have shown often residential areas won’t pay enough taxes to cover the amount of mandated services for people that move into those places require.”

She also questioned Council members if they had considered the need for hiring “specialty lawyers” to help the City in negotiations with businesses and developers when a Special Improvement District is created. She thought perspective developers “will bring in their own full load of lawyers for the negotiations…..and if the City doesn’t hire their own expertise, you can end up in a very difficult situation in negotiations.”

Newly mandated city services was another point Mrs. Gatzke emphasized in her remarks to Council members. “Has the City as a legal entity, thought about the many mandated services that could be required for the new annexation? The state and federal government are handing more and more of the responsibilities they used to carry down to a lower level, placing the burden now on the local government.” She noted the City legally has to provide every citizen and business the same type of services, and then asked, “If the developers (in the annexation area) put in all new utilities and pay for it themselves, what is the City’s plan to bring up the level of services within the City to make it comparable with what the new developers are putting in for themselves?” She added, “We know right now there are problems with power and different structures within the City, and yet you have to provide equal services to whoever is within the city limits and do you have a plan to cover those things?”

“It is very important to think seriously about what kind of development you want to consider out there, as well as in the City,” she said. “There are different entities you can get a lot of taxes off of, such as certain types of commercial units. We are certainly looking for more tax income to improve the city.”

But some entities that might want to own property or businesses in the new annexed area, might be of such a type that they would not have to pay taxes. She gave the example that if Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) has ownership of land, or of a business, within the city limits, because it is considered a quasi-municipality, they are tax exempt. She referred to White Pine County, where SNWA bought out several ranches to get the water rights for their planned water pipeline, “whereas those ranches used to pay taxes to the County, now they don’t because they are owned by SNWA,” she said.

Following the vote to annex the 5600 acres, Mayor Kevin Phillips said that while most of Mrs. Gatzke’s questions could not be answered at this time, “the Council is aware they need to be wise and judicious about any agreements we enter into.”

In other action, the Council approved the request from B.Z.I. Construction to begin concrete work and building of a new City Utilities building on Lincoln Street, and gave approval to the Southern Nevada Off Road Enthusiasts to hold a race in and around the city May 9-10.