Tax Paying for over 800 Las Vegas Police Officers Extended 30 Years
What to know
• Local officials approved a 30-year extension of a 0.2% property tax that funds 825 Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department positions — roughly a quarter of the agency’s sworn force.
• The tax, first approved by voters in 1996 and now extended to 2057, averts an estimated $158 million annual shortfall the department would have faced without it.
• The assessment-based levy would have continued regardless, but will now remain dedicated to police staffing.
A property tax in the Las Vegas Valley will continue to pay for Metropolitan Police Department officers for an additional three decades.
The Clark County Commission and the Las Vegas City Council approved a 30-year-extension of a 0.2 percent “ad valorem” tax on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
That adds up to 20 cents for every $100 assessed on a home within the city and unincorporated county.
The tax pays for 825 Metro positions, of about a quarter of its police officers.
Voters originally greenlit the tax in 1996. It was set to expire in 2027, but the 2025 Nevada Legislature stepped in to extend it until 2057.
Local governments had to approve the measure afterward.
Officials had argued that not approving the extension would have left Metro with an annual shortfall of about $158 million.
The tax accounts for about $310 yearly on a $3,100 tax bill for a home assessed at $500,000.
Las Vegas City Attorney Jeff Dorocak noted Wednesday that taxes weren’t going up or down.
The assessment-based tax would’ve still been collected even if the Metro measure hadn’t been extended, he said.
Metro did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
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