Tax collections ahead of budgeted estimates

The Las Vegas Stadium Authority issued its February report on room tax collections and determined that revenue is running 6.1 percent ahead of the budgeted projections.

The February report, which updated collections from December, showed revenue that month was 10.5 percent below budget at $2.8 million.

Analysts have said revenue from the fourth quarter of 2017 was down because of the lasting impact of the 1 October shooting. The shooting resulted in a decline in visitation, a drop in room rates as well as an unexpected decline in room inventory due to a higher-thannormal number of rooms taken off line for renovations and upgrades.

For the 10 months from March 2017, when the 0.88-percentage-point increase in the hotel tax first took effect, and December, the tax has generated $40.5 million, 6.1 percent above the budgeted projection.

For Southern Nevada, the fourth quarter traditionally is the weakest for tax revenue generation because of the holidays, lower convention business and the tendency of resorts to take rooms off line for renovations. The first quarter usually is one of the strongest with a series of major conventions in town as well as the NASCAR race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Oversight committee

Evans will be joined on the committee by Rebecca Fountain, president of KOR Building Group, appointed by Gov. Brian Sandoval; Monica Ford, president and CEO of Nevada Partners, appointed by Senate Majority Leader Aaron Ford; and Rose Davis, director of corporate services and Minority Business Enterprise development for the Western Regional Minority Supplier Development Council, appointed by Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson.

Three committee members appointed by the Raiders include Webb; Peter Guzman, president of the Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce; and Lynn Littlejohn, director of community affairs for Mortenson Construction.

Fountain, Monica Ford, Davis and Guzman were among a list of candidates nominated by minority chambers of commerce for committee positions.

The appointment of Evans was a reversal from the authority’s Jan. 11 meeting, when board member Tommy White nominated Sean Stewart, executive director of the Nevada Contractors Association, to chair the group. Hill suggested then that the matter be tabled because many board members hadn’t met Stewart.

Stewart later contacted Hill to withdraw from consideration as chairman. After an authority attorney assured board members that one of its own could be appointed chair, Evans was quickly nominated and elected.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.