Skip to main content

Search the Special Collections and Archives Portal

Las Vegas City Commission Minutes, February 17, 1937 to August 4, 1942, lvc000004-282

Image

File
Download lvc000004-282.tif (image/tiff; 59.52 MB)

Information

Digital ID

lvc000004-282
Details

Rights

This material is made available to facilitate private study, scholarship, or research. It may be protected by copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity rights, or other interests not owned by UNLV. Users are responsible for determining whether permissions are necessary from rights owners for any intended use and for obtaining all required permissions. Acknowledgement of the UNLV University Libraries is requested. For more information, please see the UNLV Special Collections policies on reproduction and use (https://www.library.unlv.edu/speccol/research_and_services/reproductions) or contact us at special.collections@unlv.edu.

Digital Provenance

Digitized materials: physical originals can be viewed in Special Collections and Archives reading room

Publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Libraries

with interest at not to exceed five per centum per annum, and authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to sign the note or notes of the City therefor. The vote on said resolution was as follows: Voting aye, Commissioner Gilbert, Krause and Corradetti and His Honor, the Mayor. Voting No, none. Absent Commissioner, Ronnow. On June 17th, 1940, on motion of Commissioner Gilbert, seconded by Commissioner Krause it was moved and carried that the City Attorney be instructed to draft a letter to Governor Carville and ascertain the State Board of Finance would be in session and requesting the Governor to call a special meeting of the Board in the event a meeting was not to be held for some time. The vote upon this motion was as follows: Voting aye, Commissioner Ronnow, Gilbert, Krause and Corradetti, and His Honor, the Mayor. Voting No, none. At this same meeting, on motion of Commissioner Gilbert, seconded by Commissioner Corra­detti, it was moved and carried that Commissioner Ronnow attend the meeting of the State Board of Finance in regard to the application of the City for permission to float said Emergency Loan. The vote on this motion was as follows: Voting Aye, Commissioner Gilbert, Krause and Corradetti and His Honor, the Mayor. Voting No, Commissioner Ronnow. And at the same meeting it was moved by Commissioner Gilbert and seconded by Commissioner Krause, that Finance Commissioner, Corradetti, accompany Commissioner Ronnow on said trip to Carson City, The motion was carried by the following vote: Voting Aye, Commissioners Gilbert, Krause, and His Honor, the Mayor. Voting No, Commissioners Ronnow and Corradetti. Upon receipt of a letter from the Governor in answer to the letter written by the City Attorney, naming July 1st, 1940, at 2-o'clock P.M. as the time for meeting, Commissioners Ro­nnow and Corradetti and Auditor A. W. Blackman met with the Governor and Dan Franks in the Governor's Chambers in the Capitol and discussed at length the need for such ah Emergency Loan. Owing to the fact that Mr. Henry Schmidt, a member of the State Board of Finance, had been called away on account of the death of a relative, there was not quorum present and official action could not then be taken. The two members present expressed their opinion that the Board would grant permission to make an Emergency Loan as requested, provided they receive a letter from the County Commissioners of Clark County, stating that the County Commissioners had approved a rate of $1.05 for the City of Las Vegas, which rate did include provision for the re­payment of said Emergency Loan. On July 5th, 1940, Commissioner Corradetti and Auditor, A. E. Blackeman, presented to the County Commissioners the request of the State Board of Finance for the above mentioned letter, and the County Commissioners caused a letter to be drawn setting forth the requested facts, and mailed the same to the State Board of Finance. No word being received by the City from the State Board of Finance, Commissioners Ronnow and Corradetti instructed the City Clerk to wire an inquiry to the State Board of Finance, on July 27th, 1940. On the same day a reply stated that the State Board of Finance would take action Monday afternoon July 29th, 1940. Not having heard from them on July 31st, 1940, the City Clerk again wired a request as to what action had been taken. In reply the State Board of Finance wired that they had written a letter reques­ting the information mentioned above from the Board of County Commissioners. Evidently they failed to receive the letter mailed July 5th, 1940, by the Board of County Commissioners. Commissioner Ronnow immediately notified County Clerk, Lloyd S. Payne, and he telephoned Dan Franks immediately and read him over the telephone a copy of the County Commissioners' letter. The contents of this letter Mr. Franks relayed to the State Board of Finance at their meeting on Thursday, August 1st, 1940. The next information regarding the matter was receipt by the City Clerk of a copy of a letter from the State Board of Finance addressed to Hon. L. Russell Mayor, stating that in accordance with his request for hearing, a meeting would be held at 2-o-clock P.M. on Thursday, August 8th, 1940 in the Governor's office for the purpose of hearing such arguments as he, the Mayor, wished to present, said letter being signed for the State Board of Finance, by D. G. La Rue, Secretary. Whatever communication the Mayor had sent to the State Board of Finance was sent without the knowledge of any City Commissioner or any other City official. Heretofore the Mayor has always emphatically demanded that all City business be transacted in open meetings. He now, after having approved all steps leading up to the application for said Emergency Loan, and having concurred in and voted for the appointment of a committee whose sole duty it was to present arguments to the State Board of Finance that an emergency for the making of said loan did and does exist, and after the City had received prac­tical assurance that such application would be approved on August 1st, 1940, without consulting any City Commissioner in open meeting or otherwise, requests the State Board of Finance to de­lay the approval of said loan until he himself can appear personally before said Board. The law requires the adoption of a City budget on or before Monday in March of each year The budget adopted for the year of 1940 included the Emergency Loan in its item of revenue. The various City departments have proceeded in their expenditures on the supposition that the Emergency Loan would be granted. It would be unwise to proceed any longer with any uncertainty existing that this revenue would not be available. Consequently all departments to the City are hampered in their work by further delay. The need for this Emergency Loan will appear from the following figures. CITY OF LAS VEGAS, NEVADA. SCHEDULE A - REVENUES Actual Budget Revenue Revenue Estimate to July 31, 1939 1940 1940 Licensed ................ 93,101.50 90,000.00 72,387.35 Permits.................... 2,913.15 3,000.00 3,609.15 Fines and Fees ............ 3,948.00 4,000.00 2,396.16 Garbage Fees .............. 4,575.40 4,500.00 3,109.70 Poll Tax . . ............. 6,783.00 6,500.00 5,310.00 Sales and Rentals. . . . . 4,428.00 4,000.00 3,042.39 Emergency Loans. . . . . . ---- 15.000.00 -— Total Usable Non-Tax 115,749. 07 127,000.00 88,854.75 Special Assessments. . . . 12,557.41 2,235.00 2,628.71 Special Deposits - Trust . 400.00 -- 300.00 Park Improvement - Trust .------- ------- -------233.43 Total Non-Tax . 129,235.00 Taxes .................. 64,122.52 61,950.00 30,092.42 Grand Total 192,829.00 191,185.00 122,109.31