Economic development specialists agree that the 90 percent reduction in the fees charged by Carson City for hookups to water and sewer systems will help attract new jobs to the city.
But it might take a while.
Rob Hooper, executive director of the Northern Nevada Development Authority, said the dramatic reduction in fees removes a roadblock that might have caused potential new employers to look elsewhere.
The fees aren't chump change.
An industrial user who needs 10,000 gallons a day would have paid $313,671 under the old fee structure to tap into the city's water and sewer systems. Now, the fee is $31,333 a savings of more than a quarter of a million dollars.
"It doesn't take much math to see the benefit," Hooper said.
The move by city officials, Hooper said, is particularly welcome as Nevada communities face fierce competition for new employers from other locations throughout the West.
But Kris Holt, executive director of Nevada Business Connections, a nonprofit group that woos new employers to the Carson City region, said the effects of the lowered fees aren't likely to be seen immediately.
With vacant industrial and commercial space widespread throughout Carson City, potential new employers aren't thinking about commissioning new buildings that require water and sewer connections, Holt said. Instead, they're finding bargain-priced existing buildings, either for lease or sale.
Still, Holt said, the reduction sends a message to potential employers that Carson City welcomes them.
"It's a reflection of Carson City's forward planning," he said.
Mayor Bob Crowell said the Carson City Board of Supervisors' decision to cut fees was only partially driven by a desire to jump-start development.
"We haven't been getting any building, and we want to do what we can," he said.
Equally important, he said, was the belief of supervisors that the old, higher fees weren't necessary to finance construction of new infrastructure and therefore shouldn't be collected in the first place.
Opponents including some developers had argued that the lower fees would create unfair competition. New industrial and commercial buildings can be built less expensively after the fees were cut, allowing them to be rented or sold for less than older buildings.
The city plans to review the fee cut in two years to gauge its impact.
