The Sample Ballot mailed on May 10, 2024, contains incorrect information. The wording on the pros and cons concerning Nye County Ballot Question 1 was wrong and referred to an old question. I apologize for the error. The correct language is attached and below. My office will send this letter to everyone who received a sample ballot, posting it on our nyecountynv.gov Primary Election Page, and placing ads in the Pahrump Valley Times and Tonopah Times Bonanza. The Notice to Voters will also be posted in the Clerk’s Office in Tonopah and Pahrump and at all polling locations.
Thank you,
Cori A. Freidhof
Nye County Clerk
NOTICE TO THE VOTERS OF NYE COUNTY, NEVADA
Due to a printing error in the June 11, 2024, Primary Election Sample Ballots, the following is the text and explanation for Ballot Question #1.
/s/ Cori Freidhof
Nye County Clerk
NYE COUNTY BALLOT QUESTION #1
Shall Nye County levy an additional five cent ($0.05) per gallon tax on special fuel that includes diesel fuel for the exclusive purpose of construction and maintenance of public highways? YES ________ NO ________
EXPLANATION
Under existing state law, also known as the County Fuel Tax Law, counties in Nevada are authorized to impose certain taxes on motor vehicle fuel and special fuels used in motor vehicles. Also under existing state law, the board of county commissioners in all counties,
If the ballot question is approved, the Nye County Board of Commissioners will be required to impose an additional five cent ($0.05) per gallon tax on special fuel that includes diesel fuel for the exclusive purpose of construction and maintenance of public highways. Any ordinance enacted pursuant to this section must provide that the tax authorized by this section, or any change in the amount of the tax, will become effective on the first day of the second calendar month following enactment of the ordinance imposing, or changing the amount of, the tax.
A “YES” vote would allow Nye County to enact an ordinance to impose, for the period beginning on August 1, 2024, an additional five cent ($0.05) per gallon tax on special fuel that includes diesel fuel for the exclusive purpose of construction and maintenance of public highways.
A “NO” vote would prohibit Nye County from enacting an ordinance to impose, for the period beginning on August 1, 2024, an additional five cent ($0.05) per gallon tax on special fuel that includes diesel fuel for the exclusive purpose of construction and maintenance of public highways.
ARGUMENTS FOR PASSAGE
Nye County is responsible for the maintenance of approximately 3,005 miles of roadway. Due to the vast network of roadways and relatively small population, raising funds for roadway maintenance and repair presents a significant challenge for Nye County. The County does not have enough money to operate, maintain, renew, and expand the existing road system to the standards that the community desires.
The Nevada Constitution requires that the proceeds from any excise tax on gasoline or other motor vehicle fuel be used exclusively for the construction, maintenance, and repair of the public highways (streets) of this State.
Currently, there is no Nye County tax on Diesel fuel. This proposed 0.05¢ tax will increase the cost of a “fill-up” by $1.25 for a 25-gallon tank. The measure is projected to generate approximately $800,000 annually to be used for road maintenance and improvements.
Road improvements will improve safety by providing safer alternatives for bicyclists and pedestrians, thereby improving travel for all users, including safer routes to school for our children. Safer roads equal safer commutes and fewer crashes and injuries, which saves commuters through reduced insurance rates, saves taxpayer dollars through reduced demand for public safety personnel, and allows law enforcement to focus more on crime rather than on traffic related issues.
Commuters will also save money and experience an increased quality of life. Poor roads impose hidden costs on Nye County families and businesses, including excess fuel consumption, vehicle maintenance, and annual operating costs. Road improvements will reduce these annual costs for drivers, and the projects will be a major boost in economic activity in Nye County. Shortening our commutes will reduce emissions, improve our air quality, provide more time for family recreation, and provide more efficient business operations.
*If you drive a gasoline or electric vehicle this will not affect you.
ARGUMENTS AGAINST PASSAGE
The proposed Diesel Fuel Tax for Nye County is another tax. The citizens of Nye County are already struggling with basic needs and increasing costs for diesel may seem minimal at the $0.05 cent tax proposal, but it is still an additional cost that many don’t have available in their stretched budgets.
Most large trucks use diesel. Raising the cost of diesel fuel through taxation affects everyone. The cost of transportation is passed on through the price paid for delivery of food and goods. There will also be a financial impact on businesses, specifically, transportation owner/operators who deliver the goods we need.
Diesel fuel is already more expensive than gasoline. The state diesel fuel tax is 4 cents more a gallon and the federal diesel fuel tax is 5.9 cents more a gallon for diesel, so diesel is already taxed at more than the 9 cents per gallon for Nye County gas tax.
There will be associated administrative costs to implement and collect this new tax, which must not exceed 1% per state law. This could add another bureaucratic job to the DMV which is charged with the collection of these fuel taxes.
Per State law, the list of items that the tax could be used for is broad. It can be argued that if some of these funds were used for things other than road maintenance, we would be asked again to pay more money, by a decision of the County Commissioners.
At best, adding the proposed diesel tax would not generate enough revenue to put a dent in what is needed to maintain the roads in Nye County, which is estimated to be approximately $10 million per year (unadjusted for inflation). We must look for other sources of revenue to make up for the lack of dedicated funding of roads in Nye County. In 2014 there was a Road Tax that was removed from the property tax allocation. If reinstated, it could generate approximately $3 million dollars a year without raising property taxes.
With increased fuel efficiency, cars are using less fuel and therefore paying less fuel taxes. With an increase of electric vehicles (which pay zero fuel taxes and are heavier and wear out the top layer of asphalt more quickly because they have a higher acceleration capacity), the motor fuel tax system needs to be completely revamped.
Adding a diesel tax will not be the answer.
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENTS AGAINST PASSAGE
The cost increase to local goods would be minimal. A fill up for a semi-truck would be dispersed across all goods delivered to Nye County. It would cost $5.00 to fill up a 100-gallon tank and the impact to our grocery bill would be minimal.
Nye county receives monies from the State of Nevada based on the total number of lane miles that we maintain. We also receive 3.6 cents from the state of annual fuel sold in Nye County. We do not receive any federal diesel tax.
When the road department received property taxes, they received around 60K for road maintenance. This did not provide adequate funding to do road maintenance. If we asked the Board of County Commissioners to allocate property tax revenue to the road department, this would have to be pulled from another department and given to road projects. The other departments would then be inadequately funded as a result.
This tax revenue would not be used to create more jobs at the DMV. This would be a tax only used by Nye County. The DMV is a State Department. The state receives fuel tax reports from vendors and this info would be sent to them just like our gas tax is.
In our opinion, this approach is a step in the right direction to fund our road maintenance obligations. Nye County has no diesel tax therefore we cannot adequately mitigate the impacts done to our roads made by large diesel vehicles when compared to a typical gas family vehicle.
This will not fund all our needs, but we think it’s best to not put the entire financial burden in a single area. Placing the entire financial burden on property tax would have a more significant impact on Nye County residents. With a diesel fuel tax, we will get additional revenue generated by people who are “passing through” to help pay for our road maintenance.
We agree that the tax system needs to be revamped and this is a step in the right direction.
REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENTS FOR PASSAGE
Adding taxes of any sort does nothing to improve our quality of life – it’s quite the opposite. This is only an argument that a government can make without serious consideration for how taxes affect our lives.
Saying that raising taxes for diesel fuel will be a “major boost in economic activity in Nye County” is akin to saying that building solar farms will create jobs. Are the companies and their workers that get the contracts to pave the roads all based in Nye County?
Nye County is largely rural, and the roads are not heavily frequented by bicyclists or pedestrians. Most pedestrians tend to walk on the shoulder of the roads, and it would be far too expensive to pave those on the 3,005 miles in the county.
These 3,005 miles have not increased – the county roads haven’t grown exponentially which makes one wonder how Nye County managed their roads before wanting more money. County governments never seem to have enough revenue and unlike the taxpayers, seem unable to manage their budgets without asking for more money. Budgets of the taxpayers don’t get to magically increase by having more money appear. If there is a finite amount of money, county departments will have to learn to live within their means.
Using the argument that it appears to be a “minimum” increase for filling up with an added diesel fuel tax is another example of “death by 1000 cuts.” The projected annual funds for the diesel tax of $800,000 doesn’t even pay for a mile of road – the cost is astronomical. Any increase won’t even scratch the surface – we need a more permanent solution and a look into why it costs so much to pave roads.
Pahrump has a large number of commuter workers. This demographic knows it is more expensive to fill up their tanks in Clark County due to the higher fuel taxes on both gasoline and diesel. We can continue to keep the gas stations thriving in Nye County by keeping our fuel taxes below those of the adjacent counties, which will in turn truly be an “economic boost” to the workers and business owners of Nye County.
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL EFFECT
Section 6: The average annual cost of this special and diesel tax increase is expected to be $65 for a typical payer of special and diesel fuel taxes in Nye County, based on average annual expenditures on special and diesel fuels that are subject to the special and diesel fuel tax of $1,300. Following the levy of the tax, additional expenses are expected to be incurred to pay for the repair, maintenance, and construction of public roads, as well as equipment financed with the additional levy.