The council will convene at 1 p.m. to discuss the city’s legislative requests, as council members anticipate the upcoming February 2011 Nevada legislative session. On the agenda will be discussion and possible action on the city’s legislative platform and priorities. The council will also discuss the future of its one bill draft request (BDR), which is a petition to the Legislature for a city demand.
The topic currently on the table for BDR discussion is a petition to raise taxes in Sparks in order to pay for more than 25 new police officers.
In order to implement the tax hike, the city would need the approval of the Legislature.
City officials said the proposed 0.25 percent sales tax increase would generate about $3.6 million a year, which would pay for 25 new police positions. Besides hiring and equipping the officers, money also would be used for five non-officer positions lost through recent budget cuts.
Voters will be asked their opinion on the tax increase on the November ballot.
The Sparks City Council is scheduled to discuss its member’s other ideas for legislative petitions, potentially expanding beyond the police question. The Sparks City Council is only able to submit one request per legislative session.
Following the discussion on legislative issues, the council will reconvene at 3 p.m. for its regular city council meeting.
Business will kick off with a final report on 2010 Census operations in the city. The report states that about 6,200 people were hired to work for the census. It also states that Nevada was one of only two states in the Western region to equal its 2000 response rate in 2010. Results are scheduled to be presented to the federal government on Dec. 31.
City leaders will also ponder the future demolition of a vacant house on A Street that has been plagued by fires and vagrants.
Sparks City Attorney Chet Adams and Sparks Fire Marshal Bob King will be asking the council Monday for permission to seek legal recourse to demolish the house.
Adams is concerned that the house, surrounded by weeds and waste, has caught fire so many times that the structure is no longer safe for firefighters to enter and put out possible future blazes.
Demolishing the house could cost the city about $75,000.
The council will also hear the first reading of a noise ordinance that would make it a crime for drivers to blast their music. If the city code is changed, an officer who hears music blasting when they are more than 25 feet away from the car can write the driver a ticket. The second reading of the bill and its possible adoption would not come until the Sparks City Council’s Sept. 13 meeting.
The final item on the council’s agenda will be discussion of a report on consolidation that must be submitted to the Nevada Legislature by September.
The Sparks City Council meets at 745 Fourth St. in the city council chambers.
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