By Selwyn Harris
Pahrump Town Manager Bill Kohbarger lamented that he may not have a job if the Pahrump Town Board is dissolved and replaced by an advisory board.
Last week Judge Robert Lane ruled that the county’s ballot question, which allowed voters to decide the fate of the board in November, was valid.
The action means the county could assume the fiscal decision-making duties of the town board after the terms of the board’s oldest sitting members expire in 2014.
Pahrump Town Board Vice Chair Bill Dolan said he and his colleagues will eventually decide on whether they will appeal Lane’s decision to the Nevada Supreme Court.
“It is on our agenda and we will see what the next step will be. An appeal is always a possibility but it is a decision for the five around the table. I’m just one board member. I’m disappointed with Judge Lane and I would have thought that being a member of the bar and sitting on the bench as long as he has that he would have made his decision on the points of law. I don’t think that happened and we will see where the five of us want to take it,” he said.
The town board’s attorney maintains that the Board of County Commissioners failed to make a public determination that the town board no longer served the best interests of the public. Lane contended that the determination was made clear when a majority of the commissioners agreed to place the question on November’s general election ballot.
The question passed by a very slim margin with 7,294 voters in favor versus 7,063 opposed.
Last July, Nye County District 4 Commissioner Butch Borasky convinced his fellow commissioners to put the question on the ballot.
His decision was based on what he thought was an air of arrogance among unnamed board members as well as their apparent lack of concern for public interests.
Dolan said that he has very serious concerns about an essentially powerless advisory board helping the county to manage a town with a population of more than 37,000 residents.
“In a town this size, there is a need for that layer between the county commission and the residents. Looking at it from an economic standpoint; if you are a business wanting to relocate your company and Pahrump comes up as being one of your target areas and you look at the problems that the county and the town have had in the last couple of years and then the town board form of government is taken away by the county commissioners and made an advisory board, are you going to feel comfortable bringing your business here? I think economically the town could possibly be devastated by a move of that magnitude,” he said.
Not surprisingly, Kohbarger agreed with Dolan’s assessment and actually took it one step further by referring to the various services provided by the town, which include the fire department, parks and recreation, Chief Tecopa Cemetery, and the town pool.
“I called County Manager Pam Webster and inquired about that very question about the town’s operations and she stated to me that there are no plans that she has seen to get rid of any employee in the town of Pahrump. We are going to continue keeping the lines of communications open and probably next year in June or July we we’ll probably sit down and really hammer out an idea or plan. I’m hoping that no employee goes away,” he said.
The town manager also spoke about the fate of his employment with the town.
He said it’s very likely that his job will be eliminated if the appeal is rejected by the Nevada Supreme Court.
“I don’t think my job is going to be here but that’s life and I’m not worried about that. It will be an advisory board and they will report to the county commission. They don’t need a town manager to run this place because they will be following the county manager. I think all of the other jobs will be secure because they need the buildings and grounds crews to keep up the parks and the buildings. They need the fire department to run the ambulances and everything. They need our business license people, ambulance clerks, our billing people, plus our admin and our human resources. We have all of the know-how and the knowledge of what’s been going on,” he said.
When asked if the county can properly handle their own day-to-day duties and those of the town, Board Chairman Harley Kulkin said definitely not.
He also commented on how the county handles its finances.
“I’ve asked them all of the time about the money. I would like an accounting of the PETT money. All of the money you brought in and where’s it been spent. Their answer has always been that I can come in and look at all of their stuff but I’m not an accountant. If the FBI came in and asked, I bet they would provide the information. I can ask Mr. Sullivan from the town and he can tell me where every dime is. The county refuses to let you know where they spent all of that money,” he said.
Dolan, meanwhile, said he had suspicions about the ballot question’s terminology.
He said it appeared to be written in a manner that was intentionally confusing to the voters.
“If you read the ‘yes’ portion for that question, it was not only misleading but there was some false statements in that. It also said one very key phrase, which a lot of people would normally key onto. It doesn’t say that the Board of County Commissioners will create an advisory board, or shall create an advisory board. It says ‘may’ create an advisory board and those are two very big definitions,” he said.
Dolan also said that he believes the bad blood between the two entities stemmed from the past commission and town boards.
The vice chair said he and the other board members are now working to restore civility and mutual respect for both bodies.
“I can’t speak for staff but the elected officials are working diligently to heal this process and Pahrump and Nye County forward in a positive light,” he said.
Some local voters have expressed their desire to expedite the disbanding of the town board by demanding the resignation of the group.
Due to time constraints, results of the board’s decision will appear in Friday’s edition of the Pahrump Valley Times.
-
- Town Board Vice Chair Bill Dolan
-
- Town Manager Bill Kohbarger
-
- Town Board Chairman Harley Kulkin
Ok first off, I find it funny how every time this is mentioned in the PVT they have to re-enforce this myth that it passed my a “small margin.” In a town where only 7000 people vote, a bit over 200 isn’t all that slim.
Second, anyone else a bit perturbed that these people, because they don’t want to lose their jobs, are willing to pick this vote apart, and use every legal trick in the book to go against the will of the people?
Yeah, see how much authority you have if you manage to overturn a legal vote.
Sorry, the people voted, start packing. We as voters should be outraged that they are trying to overturn this vote.
Roger, Roger, only 7000 voted? The total of the vote equals well over 14,000 voted in the election and there was a difference of 231 between the two positions. That’s hardly a wide margin.
Apart from that, I believe the BOCC should do the right thing and put it to the citizens once again, now after the court has ruled, after this has been discussed ad infinitum and when more information has come to light as to what the town board members really want.
How about this Roger. How about YOU start packing? This vote should be overturned because the ballot question was a big fat lie. Also, I think you need to go back to school and take a basic math class. If 7000+ people voted on EACH side, then how do you come up with only 7000 people total? 231 votes out of 14,357 is a VERY slim margin.
@mrribbert
I don’t care if the winning side won by 1 vote. I think it’s a sure bet that the people who voted to discontinue the town board knew exactly what they were voting for.
Now I want them all gone ASAP. Asking for all 5 resignations so we can put this issue to bed instead of festoring for another 2 years and more UNAUTHORIZED FUNDS being spent.
Maybe disrupting the town board meetings so no business can be conducted will finally put the nail in the coffin of this town board. No doubt they are not going to go easily and without a fight. Right to the bitter end they will go against the wishes of the people. ARROGANCE REIGNS SUPREME WITH WATERS, KULKIN and DOLAN.
Again you don’t know what you are talking about.I will let you in on a little secret. Your townboard member Mr.Tom (Elitist) Waters and the District Attorney (Selective Enforcement) Kunzi wrote the ballot question together. Two Dumb Democrats. Go figure??
Ray, the ballot question was very clear to me. I guess that’s because I am a Democrat and Republicans can’t read, is that it?
It always comes down to voter confusion when a question ballot issue doesn’t go the way some want it to.
“Shall the Pahrump elected town board form of government be discontinued.”
This doesn’t seem so confusing to me. How about the rest of you?
http://www.nyecounty.net/DocumentCenter/View/21040
One thing I can assure you of, I am going nowhere. I will remain here and keep this town as free as possible, even though progressives such as yourself are intent on turning us into Kalifornia Lite.
@mrribbert
I don’t care if the winning side won by 1 vote. I think it’s a sure bet that the people who voted to discontinue the town board knew exactly what they were voting for.
Now I want them all gone ASAP. Asking for all 5 resignations so we can put this issue to bed instead of festoring for another 2 years and more UNAUTHORIZED FUNDS being spent.
Maybe disrupting the town board meetings so no business can be conducted will finally put the nail in the coffin of this town board. No doubt they are not going to go easily and without a fight. Right to the bitter end they will go against the wishes of the people. ARROGANCE REIGNS SUPREME WITH WATERS, KULKIN and DOLAN.
I think the judge did make his ruling on the points of law. What in the world is Dolan talking about?
There are county governments across the land that govern populations of 50 times more people than Nye County. so that argument is laughable as well.
What we needed was a means that the will of the people was acknowledged and fought for. In the past years, we had just the opposite experience with a town board form of government.
When we vote, there is no expectation that a losing party can nullify the majority by claiming the percentage of win was too small to count. We had a county commission race a few years ago where the vote was tied and the two drew cards or something like that to end the deadlock.
I think it is pretty clear what is now going to occur. The town board will vote to spend even more taxpayer money by taking this to the supreme court. In other words, the will of the people means nothing to this group when it comes to tending to their own selfish needs.
Why can’t the Town Board get it through their heads! I knew what I was voting for, no confussion here. The people have spoken, WE WANT THE TOWN BOARD GONE!
And they’re still wondering why.
Why? I assume because they think we are idiots and incapable of understanding a ballot issue or what is good for us. That is the arrogance of Dolan and the others speaking.
I think the majority of residents in this town are tired of our town board. Dealing with the County Board of Supervisors alone involves dealing with half as many egos. Thirdly, incorporation has been voted down by a LARGE margin three times. The below linked is a good study as to city vs. town differences:
http://www.cabnr.unr.edu/uced/Reports/Technical/fy2000_2001/2000_01_02rpt.pdf
When these two municipalities had the same population of 19,000(in FY 1998-1999) the cost differences to administer were striking:
CITY of Elko (1998-99): Ass’d value: $272.2 million, Expenditures: $11.1 mil
TOWN of Pahrump(98-99): Ass’d value: $423.7 million, Expenditures: $1.6 mil
Question #2 “Shall the Pahrump elected town board form of government be discontinued?” Yes, or No? How hard is that to understand? Where’s the confusion? Even my children knew to vote “yes” on that question! Every time I hear members of the TB state that the question was worded in a confusing manner, I think they’re calling everyone stupid.
Technically, we don’t need a TB. Financially, we can’t afford the spending habits of a TB. Someone previously posted that if the TB had the interests of the people in mind, that they would revert to an advisory board right away and start to do the will of the people. I couldn’t agree more.
Mr. Dolan asks; “Looking at it from an economic standpoint; if you are a business wanting to relocate your company and Pahrump comes up as being one of your target areas and you look at the problems that the county and the town have had in the last couple of years and then the town board form of government is taken away by the county commissioners and made an advisory board, are you going to feel comfortable bringing your business here?”
I’m a small business owner in Pahrump. I have owned various ventures through out my 30 year career and as such I believe I have earned the qualifications to answer this question. When looking for a place to do business the small business man, ie those without the capital to support cronie capitalism and partisan politics, have one simple rule of thumb when looking for a town to do business in. The smaller the town government the bigger the freedom to govern and run your business your way with the least amount of tax burden also known as extortion fees. So Mr. Dolan I believe Pahrump will thrive with a town advisory board and I was one of 7,294 voters who are happy to see the current board disbanded. P.S many of my thousand plus customers called me on this issue prior to voting and I was happy to share my thoughts.
Dear sore loser town board and town manager,
You lost, bye now, get to packing. The only one I feel bad for is Amy Riches, she was at least a voice of the people in town and perhaps she can move her way up to county commission at a later date. The rest of the extreme leftists, they can pack up and move on.
Amy said it HAD to be appealed.
My thoughts exactly, DennyW