As elsewhere stated, one of the bases¹ for differentiating “fees” from special assessments and taxes is the payment by choice² factor. In other words, to be a “fee,” the party making payment retains the right to not receive the benefit allegedly furnished, and thereby avoid the charge³. But it turns out the Incline Village General Improvement District (“IVGID”) has a slew of “fees” involuntarily assessed and collected, hidden from those who are compelled to pay. Identifying those circumstances is the purpose of this topic.

Defensible Space: We’re going to leave the most egregious examples⁴ for last and start out with defensible space charges. As we’ve elsewhere discussed, the goal of fuels management aka defensible space insofar as IVGID is concerned

“Is to create a ‘halo’ around the community restricting the movement of wildfire in or out…The substance of those efforts removes vegetation and other fuels as they accumulate…rang(ing) from clearing the understory to major tree removal and fuels reduction.”⁵ “This work also provides a protective boundary for (all of) the homes (and other properties) of Incline Village and Crystal Bay.”⁶

For decades the District’s “previously approved”⁷ annual contribution towards defensible space costs was $200,000⁸. These monies came from two funding sources; 50% appeared “on (customer’s monthly)…Public Works (utility billing) statement(s)” [i.e., the water fees local property owners pay⁹ or guaranty¹⁰]. “The other 50% share…(wa)s paid” from “the Community Administration (sub-fund within the Community Services Fund’s) budget, which was initially funded by the facility fee.”⁷[/efn_note].

At the Board’s June 26, 2025 meeting it approved entrance into the aforesaid Restated Cooperative Agreement with the following augmentation: the annual $200,000 payment “amount was adjusted to $400,000, a doubling of the amount of funding.”¹¹ “As of FY2026, $300,000 of this cost is funded through the Defensible Space Fee on the (customer’s) Public Works (billing) statement, with the remaining $100,000 covered by the Recreation Facility Fee.”¹²

Given NRS 318.170(1) instructs that

“The board may, in connection with a district with basic powers relating to storm drainage facilities, sanitary sewer facilities, refuse collection and disposal facilities, and water facilities, or any combination of such facilities…

(b) Compel all owners of inhabited property in the district to use the district’s system for the collection and disposal of sewage, garbage and other refuse…by connection with the district’s sewer system or otherwise, except for industrial property for which arrangements have been made with local health authorities for the disposal of wastes;

(c) Cause a connection by an owner of inhabited property to such a system if a service line is brought by the district to a point within 400 feet of his or her dwelling place, and upon a failure of the owner so to connect within 60 days after written mailed notice by the board, cause: (1) the connection to be made by a person other than an owner…; and,

(d) Make and enforce all necessary regulations for the removal of sewage, garbage or other refuse, and for the proper use of water within the district,”

Given NRS 318.197(3) instructs that

“The board shall prescribe and enforce regulations for the connection with and the disconnection from properties of the facilities of the district and the taking of its services,”

The District has adopted sewer¹³ and water¹⁴ ordinances to regulate the above, and

“The Owner of any building or structure to be inhabited by humans, situated within the District, is…required…to connect said building directly with the public sewer”¹⁵ and in essence, the “regular water service”¹⁶ of the District,

Once a public utility customer of the District is compelled to pay water and sewer rates, tolls and charges¹⁷ which include defensible space charges, those fees are involuntarily paid. Whether requested, or not.

Franchise aka “Program Administration“ Fees: As we’ve elsewhere discussed, a solid waste “franchise fee” is

A fee remitted back to the municipality pursuant to a negotiated contract¹⁸ between a municipality and a utility service provider¹⁹ which grants the utility the exclusive right to serve customers within the (municipality’s) jurisdiction. In principle the fee reimburses the municipality for the costs it incurs in allowing the utility to operate and use public rights-of-way (“ROW”) such as roads, sidewalks, and utility corridors.

Given NRS 318.197(3) and NRS 318.170(1)(b) [which allows GID “board(s to)…compel all owners of inhabited property in the district to use the district’s system for the collection and disposal of…garbage and other refuse”], the District has adopted a trash ordinance²⁰. Given ¶3.6 of that Ordinance expressly incorporates by reference any trash franchise entered into between the District and a collector, the District has entered into a number of trash franchises with various collectors over the years going back to 1965²¹. For these reasons it’s unsurprising to learn that ¶3.1 of the current franchise instructs that

“Garbage and other rubbish collection service will be provided by Collector, and it shall be mandatory for all owners, occupants, or persons in possession, charge, or control of all places and premises in the District where(ver) garbage and other rubbish is created, accumulated, or produced to subscribe to and use the Collector’s collection service, except as provided herein²².

Insofar as the franchise fee in particular is concerned, ¶9.1.2 of the current trash franchise²³ requires the collector pay the District a disingenuous “program administration fee”²⁴ for the alleged “costs of administering and overseeing the contract as well as administering its other solid waste collection and disposal services”²⁵ in an amount “equal to ten percent (10%) of Gross Receipts generated from Customers for the Services rendered (t)hereunder.”²⁶

Once a District public utility customer is compelled to pay solid waste garbage and refuse rates, tolls and charges¹⁷ which as the reader can see include franchise fees, those fees end up getting involuntarily paid by the customer. Whether or not the alleged services represented thereby, if any, are requested.

Now We Get to The RFF/BFF: As elsewhere stated,

“Each year…the Board…approve(s) a resolution²⁷ (“the Resolution”) which at ¶6 adopts a “Report²⁸ For Collection on The County Tax Roll of Recreation Standby And Service Charges” (“the Report”) which outlines the billing and collection process(es) set forth in…Nevada Revised Statutes 318.197” and 318.201, respectively²⁹.

The billing and collection processes set forth in NRS 318.201 instruct, in part, that

“9…When the board has made a final decision on a service charge or fee to be collected on the county tax roll, the secretary shall prepare and file a final report…with the county assessor for inclusion on the assessment roll…which shall contain a description of each parcel receiving the services and the amount of the charge…

11. The county treasurer shall (then) include the amount of the charges on bills for taxes levied against the respective lots and parcels of land(, and) thereafter the amount of the charges shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner and by the same persons as, together with and not separately from, the general taxes for the county.”

That Report³⁰ declares, in part, that

“¶VI. The amounts of the charges shall constitute a (perpetual) lien against the lot or parcel of real property against which the charge has been imposed as of the time when the lien of taxes on the roll attaches, and all laws applicable to the levy, collection and enforcement of general taxes of the District, including, but not limited to, those pertaining to the matters of delinquency, correction, cancellation, refund, redemption and sale, are applicable to such charges.”

So once “the board has made a final decision on a service charge or fee to be collected,” it ends up getting involuntarily paid by the parcel owner whether or not the alleged services represented thereby, if any, are requested. And that charge is enforceable via “all laws applicable to the levy, collection and enforcement of general taxes of the District.”

And now you know!

---

1. But for limited circumstances, such as fees for municipal public health and sanitation services [examples include standby service charges for the availability of municipal water [see Jones v. Water Commission of Detroit, 34 Mich 273, 275 (1876) and sewer [see Ripperger v. Grand Rapids, 338 Mich. 682, 62 N.W.2d 585 (1954)] service(s).
2. See our Special And Limited Circumstances Under Which The “Paid by Choice” Factor Applicable to All Fees Based on “The Right of a Governmental Entity as Proprietor of The Instrumentalities Used” Can Be Disregarded discussion.
3. See Vanceburg v. Federal Energy Regulatory Comm’n, 571 F.2d 630, 644 n.48 (D.C. Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 818, 99 S.Ct. 79 (1978).
4. The District’s Recreation (“RFF”) and Beach (“BFF”) Facility Fees.
5. See page 4 of IVGID’s 2018 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (“the 2018 CAFR”).
6. See the District’s “About Rates and Billing” web page.
7. See that March 19, 2025 staff memorandum in support of entrance into a “Restated Cooperative Agreement” for defensible space between IVGID and the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District (“NLTFPD”).
8. See that June 9, 2024 “Restated Cooperative Agreement.”
9. Page 66 of the 2018 CAFR depicts a Schedule of Revenues, Expenses and Changes in Net Position assigned to the District’s Utility Fund. Therein, IVGID represents that $100,000 was budgeted for defensible space. This sum was “split between the water and sewer divisions of the Utility Fund, with each division receiving a portion of the amount collected.”⁷
10. See ¶14.05 of Ordinance No. 4, the District’s Water Ordinance, which states “all charges, fees and amounts due and payable shall be billed to the owner of the premises, whether or not the owner is also the occupant;” and, ¶9.06 of Ordinance No. 2, the District’s Sewer Ordinance, which states “all charges, fees and amounts due and payable shall be billed to the owner of the premises, whether or not the owner is also the occupant.”
11. See that June 26, 2025 staff memorandum in support of entrance into the Amended And Restated Cooperative Agreement.
12. Go to https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/residents/water-sewer-bill-pay/.
13. See Ordinance No. 2.
14. See Ordinance No. 4.
15. See ¶5.05 of Ordinance No. 2.
16. See ¶5.05 of Ordinance No. 4.
17. The term “rates, tolls or charges” [see NRS 318.197(1)] represents different names for “specific services” for which “fixed price(s are) charged (see https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/fee.asp). According to an AI search, a “rate is a fixed fee or cost per unit of service (often used for utilities like water or electricity). A toll is a fee paid for the use of a specific road, bridge, or tunnel, typically collected at designated points. A charge is a fee imposed for a service or product, which can vary based on usage or specific conditions.” The common denominator here being that all are fees!
18. Called a “franchise.”
19. Here called a solid waste disposal “collector.”
20. See Ordinance No. 1.
21. See Whiston v. McDonald, 85 Nev. 508, 458 P.2d 107 (1969).
22. This grant is reiterated in ¶¶3.1 and 5.8.2.1 of the of the current trash franchise [“The District requires that Solid Waste collection is mandatory for Residential and Commercial customers is the Franchise Area, and all such customers shall subscribe to and use the Collector’s collection service…whenever there is an accumulation of Solid Waste on any Residential or Commercial premises, regardless of the amount.”].
23. See pages 21-95 of the packet of materials prepared by staff in anticipation of the Board’s August 12, 2026 meeting (“the 8/12/2026 Board packet“).
24. We say disingenuous inasmuch as for the previous, continuous, 61 years plus, this fee has been called a franchise fee (by way of example, see ¶12 of the immediate preceding Second Amended and Restated Franchise Agreement). And never did it specify the reasons for assessment other than as an additional revenue generating mechanism.
25. See page 3 of 3 of Public Works Director Kate Nelson’s August 6, 2026 Business Impact Statement re: Solid Waste Collection and Disposal Agreement and Associated Changes to IVGID Ordinance No. 1.
26. Given this fee is included in ¶1.4 Allowable Expenses, and ¶1.55 Net Income is determined by reducing Allowable Expenses from Gross Revenues, hopefully the reader sees that the franchise fee is passed through and paid by you the trash customer, rather than the solid waste collector who is the one directly assessed.
27. An example of that resolution is the one adopted for FY 2025-26; Resolution No. 1917. Which can be viewed at pages 108-111 of the packet of materials prepared by staff in anticipation of the Board’s May 30, 2025 meeting (“the 5/30/2025 Board packet“).
28. An example of the Report adopted for FY 2025-26 appears at pages 112-117 of the 5/30/2025 Board packet.
29. See page 105 of the 5/30/2025 Board packet.
30. As well as ¶6 of that Resolution which adopts that Report.