Nevada

Nevada City to weigh water/wastewater treatment fee hikes

Published

3 months ago

January 27, 2026

Nevada City to weigh water/wastewater treatment fee hikes

Water and wastewater users in Nevada City could see fee hikes coming down the pipe as the City of Nevada City is currently going through steps needed to do so.

According to the city staff report, water users would see a 25% increase in costs each year for the next 5 years, while wastewater use would result in a 12% increase each year for the next five years.

For example, a water user currently paying $48 bi-monthly in fees, would be paying $198.41 bi-monthly by 2030.

A current wastewater user paying $159.31 bi-monthly, would be paying $250.67 bi-monthly by 2030.

“It is necessary to periodically review rates to ensure that the City can obtain sufficient funds to develop, construct, operate, maintain, and manage its water and wastewater system on a continuing basis, in full compliance with federal, state, and local requirements,” a staff report prepared by Interim City Manager Joan Phillipe said.

Council and staff will convene on the matter at their next regularly scheduled council meeting this Wednesday January 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Nevada City Hall, 317 Broad Street.

“It is recommended that City Council select a rate option for both water and wastewater and direct staff to initiate the Proposition 218 noticing process. This will involve public engagement and noticing to receive and consider feedback regarding the proposed rates and with public meetings and a hearing as mandated by Proposition 218 for formal adoption of rate adjustments,” the staff report said.

City to look at Enterprise Fleet services

Also at Wednesday’s meeting, the city of Nevada City will consider approval of an agreement with Enterprise Fleet Management to the tune of up to $400,000 per year.

“To increase fleet efficiency, reliability, and reduce expensive repair and fuel costs, staff has researched leasing options that would be a benefit to the organization,” the city staff report reads. “The City of Nevada City currently purchases all fleet vehicles on a cash basis, meaning the entire cost of each vehicle is paid at the time of purchase. This can be heavily impactful to the city as a whole and difficult to adequately budget for. Utilizing Enterprise Fleet Management would yield moderate savings while simultaneously improving fleet viability, safety, and appearance.”

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Nevada

IN RESPONSE: Cortez Masto lands bill would keep the proceeds in Nevada

Published

2 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

IN RESPONSE: Cortez Masto lands bill would keep the proceeds in Nevada

A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.

Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.

What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.

The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.

So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.

I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.

Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.

Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.

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