By The Moapa Valley Incorporation Committee
Published March 31, 2010

Early last year, incorporation was a hot topic. Yet as 2009 continued, the talk of incorporation seemed to wane. As a result, many in the community have wondered if incorporation efforts have continued or not. The answer is that an inquiry into the feasibility of an incorporated Moapa Valley is still very much alive and ongoing.

The Moapa Valley Incorporation Committee has finalized the Notice to Incorporate and will submit it to the Clark County Clerk on Monday, April 5, 2010. This Notice represents a request to the County from Logandale and Overton residents, who desire to know if incorporation is feasible (the Moapa TAB decided that the upper valley did not want to participate).

It is important to note that this action does not represent a final decision to incorporate. Once submitted, a Petition to Incorporate will be circulated in the community and will be available for viewing at www.moapavalleyinc.info. Registered voters within the incorporation area will have the opportunity to review and sign the petition.

The petition to incorporate includes information such as a map of the proposed city boundaries, the proposed city’s name and the number of persons who reside in the area. More importantly, it includes proposed expenses, estimated revenue resources and plans to provide sewer, water, police and fire services along with an estimate of cost for these services.

While the petition does not have all the answers, it does contain a preliminary estimate of an operation plan for the potential incorporated city. Submitting these figures will initiate a process that will ultimately provide the community with the fiscal information required to know whether it is feasible to incorporate or not.

This process will be conducted by the Nevada State’s Committee on Local Government Finance as well as the State Department of Taxation. In compliance with NRS 266.1263, these two departments will, “prepare a concise statement concerning the estimated fiscal effect of the incorporation on the residents of the proposed city, including an estimated tax rate and an example of that tax rate applied for 1 year to a median-priced home in the area of the proposed city compared to an example of the present tax rate in the area applied for the same period to the same home.” Thus our community will learn if incorporation is feasible. This information will be provided before a final vote on incorporation.

We will begin collecting signatures of registered voters who reside in Logandale or Overton on April 8-10 during the Clark County Fair. There is a booth in the retail vendor tent (usually in the southwest part of the fairgrounds), and we invite everyone to visit, review and sign the Petition while there. After the fair, we will continue to collect signatures until we have the required amount. This will be done through a combination of booths at local businesses and a door-to-door effort if required. If you are not a registered voter and desire to be a part of this process, please call Jinx Johnson at 398-3337 to register to vote.

What can be done to help? Volunteers are needed to assist at the booths, circulate the petition within the valley, and collect signatures. If you would like to participate in this, please visit the Incorporation website listed above and sign up to volunteer or call 397-2008 and leave your contact information.

Published in the Moapa Valley Progress on 3/31/10