Improving Clark County's
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Improving Clark County’s Economic Future Sponsored by NEDPAC.org L-2 FUEL TAX INDEXING FOR CLARK COUNTY - ENABLING LEGISLATION Why is Indexing Authority Necessary? Degradation of Fuel Taxes Loss of Purchasing Power: The purchasing power of fuel taxes in Clark County has declined 58% since the County reached the maximum 9-cent limit. Reduced Consumption: Fuel tax revenue that funds road construction and maintenance continues to decline as result of decreasing fuel consumption due to the increasing prevalence of electric vehicles and rising mileage efficiency requirements. Transportation Infrastructure Needs v. Funding, Next 10 Years Needs Funding $4.4 Billion $478.4 Million Established Policy in Nevada All counties in Nevada have been granted the permission from the Nevada Legislature to consider indexing their fuel taxes – except Clark County. Solutions Needed Clark County needs all available options so that it may consider how best to meet its transportation demands and make decisions that are in the best interests of Southern Nevada. How Does Clark County Benefit from Indexing Legislation? Options: Gives Clark County another option to consider in addressing its transportation funding demands. Federal Matching Funds: Provides RTC with the capability to obtain federal matching dollars (80/20). For every $10 from the RTC the Federal Government will match with $40. NDOT Projects: Provides RTC with the capability to participate to a greater extent in state projects located in Clark County. Economic Diversification: Transportation infrastructure is a critical piece to diversification of Southern Nevada’s economy and tying Clark County into the western region and the international transition of goods. Economic Impact: Invests public dollars into Southern Nevada projects and creates an estimated 11,000 jobs for Southern Nevadans in the first three (3) years. Every $1 spent on surface transportation creates $4 in direct economic benefit. Business Support: Indexing is endorsed by the US Chamber of Commerce. Economic Nexus: Users of the road pay for the roads they use. Estimated annual impact of the index is roughly $0.03 cents per gallon, equating to approximately $34 annually to the average 2-car Nevada family and creating $3 Billion in bonding capacity over 10 years. 1 | P a g e L-3 Resolution No.308 Resolution Supporting Fuel Tax lndexing WHEREAS, fuel tax is a crucial, user-paid funding mechanism for surface transportation projects throughout Clark County; and WHEREAS, since 1995, Clark County's fueltax has remained fixed while the Consumer Price lndex and Producer Price lndex have risen significantly. Federal, state, and local fueltaxes have not been adjusted in over L7 years, resulting in aSLo/o loss in purchasing power; and WHEREAS, all counties in Nevada except Clork Counfy have received authorization from the Nevada Legislature to index fuel tax; and WHEREAS, the unemployment rate in Clark County was LO% in 2Ot2 and much higher in the construction trades; and WHEREAS, the first three years of indexing will potentially result in additional bonding capacity in excess of 5600 million for local transportation projects; and WHEREAS, indexing would provide direct employment support for approximately 4,300 person- years of employment during the project timeframe (person-year equating to one person employed full-time for one year); and WHEREAS, indexing willgenerate over SSOO m¡llion in direct wage and salary payments during scheduled projects within three years; and WHEREAS, national studies indicate that every 51 invested in surface transportation projects creates 54 in d¡rect economic benefits; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE lT RESOLVED, that the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada does hereby support the implementation of fueltax indexing. We also urge and support the Nevada Legislature to enable the Clark County Board of Commissioners to implement fuel tax indexing. ., r PASSED, ADOPTED AND APPROVED th¡s [t day of February 20L3. z_ 13 Lawrence L. Brown, Chair Date Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada L-4 NEDCo Nevada Economic Development Coalition Citizens Advisory Committee CURRENT MEMBERS Danny Thompson - AFL-CIO Russell Rowe - American Council of Engineering Companies Chris Ferrari - Associate General Contractors Cliff Marshall - Clifton A Marshall Architect Ltd. Shaundell Newsome - Sumnu Marketing Warren Hardy - The Hardy Consulting Group Tim Cashman – The Cashman Companies Tom Skancke –Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance Terry Murphy – Strategic Solutions Updated 03/19/13 L-5 NEDCo Nevada Economic Development Coalition SPONSORS CA Group Las Vegas Paving VTN Slater Hanifan Terracon GC Wallace Wells Cargo Poggemeyer CM Works Baker/RBF HDR Louis Berger Group Atkins Parsons CH2MHill PB Americas Kimley Horn Transcore Aztec GES Kleinfelder Converse Stanley Jacobs Ninyo & Moore Geotek Aerotech NOVA LAM Contracting CEMEX Rinker Ashgrove Cement Kiewit Western Las Vegas Electric Werdo BC Rice Construction Road & Highway Builders Sierra Ready Mix Paul Delong Heavy Haul Meadow Valley APCO Equipment Pulice Construction Dielco Crane Blaine Equipment Cashman Equipment Contri Construction Granite Construction Harber Company CalPortland H-D Supply HUB International Jensen Precast NUCA Las Vegas Updated 01/15/13 L-6 Nevada road projects run out of funds By Joe Hawk LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Posted: Jan. 14, 2013 | 1:59 a.m. There is no figurative piggy bank to break, no jockey box to rifle through, no couch cushions to search between. Truth is, the funding of state road construction during tough economic times - as in everyday life during any financial downturn - requires tough calls when there's only so much money in your checking account. Call it managing one's budget. Call it putting pencil to paper on the cost of every layer of asphalt being laid. That is where the Nevada Department of Transportation finds itself as 2013 gets under way. Projects on the drawing board well before the nation, and Southern Nevada, began its free fall into recession are now getting a hard second look as to whether they're really necessary. Or, specifically, as necessary as others. Take the five-phase U.S. 95 Northwest Corridor Improvements Project, for example, which now finds itself on hold. In an effort to ease the congested commute into the booming northwest valley, the Transportation Department received approval in January 2000 for expansion of 12 miles of U.S. 95 from Washington Avenue north to state Route 157, known as Kyle Canyon Road. The project would add lanes to U.S. 95, construct interchanges at Horse Drive and Kyle Canyon Road and a system-to-system interchange between U.S. 95 and Clark County 215, the northern segment of the Las Vegas Beltway. Also to be included were auxiliary lanes, ramp improvements, ramp metering, and landscape and aesthetic improvements. Projected cost at the time: upward of $550 million. Federal and state funds totaling approximately $75 million were allocated for Phase 1, which consisted of widening seven miles of highway between Washington and Ann Road, while $56 million in funds supplied by the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada were used in Phase 4, the interchange at Horse. Work on the two phases was to be handled concurrently. Then the recession hit. 1 | P a g e L-7 While the funded construction started in 2010 as planned, with the interchange at Horse completed in 2011 and the 2½-year widening between Washington and Ann to be wrapped by the end of this month, phases 2, 3 and 5 are pushed back until 2015, at the earliest. Phase 2, the widening of the five-mile stretch of U.S. 95 from Ann to Kyle Canyon Road, which originally was planned to start this year, was projected to cost between $81 million and $92 million. Phase 3, the construction of the U.S. 95-Beltway interchange, would run between $233 million and $290 million. Phase 5, an interchange at Kyle Canyon, would come in at a relatively in¬expensive $40 million. That was the cost projections as established in 2000, with the high ends taking into account inflation by the time of their completion. There is no telling how much the respective phases may cost if Phase 3 doesn't start until 2015. Or beyond. "This is one of the projects we'll have to move out" of the 2013 calendar, said Tracy Larkin-Thomason, the Transportation Department's District 1 deputy director. "I expect it to be in '15, or maybe '16. But it will be moved out to future years." 'IT'S A CHALLENGE, FINANCIALLY' Because road construction projects, especially ones using interstates and state highways, are proposed and planned well in advance, there is never a guarantee the full funding will be there when work is targeted to begin. No one can foresee a recession. Or when the monetary tap might start to run dry. The state Transportation Department gets its funding for construction work through federal funds, dedicated highway-user revenue, a state/federal gasoline tax and vehicle registration fees. Federal roadway funding to Nevada has remained "relatively stable" at $300 million for the 2011-13 biennium. But Larkin-Thomason said the percentage of state/federal gasoline tax revenue, which supplements Transportation Department construction, has "flat-lined" at approximately $420 million per year from its high of $470 million in 2007. That's because higher gasoline prices result in fewer people driving and people driving fewer miles. Moreover, communities that would co-op with the Transportation Department on road construction projects because it benefits their residents simply don't have the discretionary finances to chip in. 2 | P a g e L-8 "They're depleted," Larkin-Thomason said of their resources. Clark County receives approximately 60 percent of the Transportation Department's state funding, although District 1, being regional, must look beyond the many taillights of Las Vegas Valley vehicles. As the region grows, so does the need to improve, as well as maintain, roadways throughout Southern Nevada.