Given we’ve shared that:

1. A general improvement district’s (“GID’s”) Board of Trustees’ (“Board’s”) power to “fix, and from time to time increase or decrease…rates, tolls or charges other than special assessments” flows from NRS 318.197(1);

2. NRS 318.197(1) instructs those exactions “may…includ(e)…service charges,…;” and,

3. For this reason and others, District staff and past/current Boards have bundled their authority to adopt the RFF/BFF along with two different types of charges: “standby and service,”¹

Here we examine what are:

1. “Service charges;”

2. Whether they are assessed by the District; and if so,

3. Whether they can be exacted in addition to the charges for services or facilities the District assesses, or the mere availability of those services and facilities; and,

4. Are they equivalent to the District’s Recreation (“RFF”) and Beach (“BFF”) Facility Fees the District represents?

Recall that just because the District may represent its recreation “service charges” are Recreation Fees² (aka RFF/BFF) doesn’t necessarily make them so. That’s because

“Courts will determine and classify (monetary exactions) on the basis of realities”² looking to their “operating incidence”³ rather than (their) specially descriptive phrase(s).”⁴

So with that said, let’s examine NRS 318 searching for the definition of a “service charges.” Nowhere is the term defined. What about anywhere else in the NRS? Same answer. Nowhere. What about judicial decisions? To our knowledge, nowhere has the term been defined. So we’re relegated to searching elsewhere for the answer. And this takes us to the rules for construing statutes⁵.

Nevada courts begin their inquiry with a statute’s “plain language.”⁶ Where plain and unambiguous on its face, it is not appropriate to resort to any ancillary construction aids⁷.

And here’s what we’ve discovered:

“A service charge is a fee collected to pay for services related to (a)…product or service being purchased. The charge is usually added at the time of the transaction.”⁸ “It is typically collected when there are interactions between a consumer, and the company involved.”⁹ Many industries collect service charges, including restaurants, banking, and travel and tourism. When collected these charges may cover services rendered to the (customer), or they may cover administrative or processing costs (associated therewith). Since service charges are paid directly to the (provider of a service,) they are different from tips which are paid to the (person) who (actually) renders the service.”⁸

“Service charges come with different names depending on the industry…For example, a ‘service charge’ is typically added to your bill in a (San Francisco) restaurant to pay for” employees’ health care costs¹⁰. At many hotels, a “resort fee” is added to the cost of your lodging for the availability of wi-fi, a couple of bottles of water per day, access to the facility’s swimming pool and fitness facilities, or at the Hyatt Lake Tahoe Hotel, the Diamond Peak Ski Shuttle! At financial institutions the charge can be “a monthly fee…charged…for maintaining a checking or savings account…In the airline industry(, it can be an additional charge)…to pay for services such as entertainment, baggage handling, seat selection, (a meal,) travel agent commissions, etc…In the utility industry(, it can be a charge)…in addition to the actual bill (itself) for power…used.”¹¹ It can be an additional fee imposed for the privilege of using a credit card to make payment. Or like Airbnb, it can be “an online rental platform that imposes ‘service charges’ to cover company costs.”⁹ The commonality insofar as all of these examples is that service charges “are additional charges related to the purchase of… product(s)…service(s)“⁸ or facilities themselves. In other words, if you don’t pay the charges to actually use the services or facilities “based on the rights of the entity as proprietor of the instrumentalities used,”¹² you don’t pay the “service charge.”

So does the Incline Village General Improvement District (“IVGID”) assess service charges? The answer is yes. And here are some examples:

Water/sewer service bills include administration charges¹³;

If you pay for your water/sewer bill with an eCheck or credit card, the District adds a service charge. “EChecks will be charged a flat rate of $1.50 per transaction…Credit cards will be charged a service fee of 2.45%;”¹⁴

If the District provides food and beverage service, mandatory gratuity (payable to IVGID) is included in the charge.

So do IVGID’s service charges represent RFFs/BFFs as staff and past/current Board’s have represented/represent¹? The answer’s “NO” because they tell us that

“Each year, the District establishes…annual Recreation…and Beach Facility Fee(s)…The Board traditionally approves a Resolution which at ¶4(b)¹ describes these fees as “standby and service charges…(for) the availability of the use of IVGID’s beaches; boat launch ramp; Championship golf course; Mountain golf course; tennis facilities; the Chateau and Aspen Grove; Diamond Peak Ski Resort, and Recreation Center.”¹⁵ And at ¶6 of that Resolution, a Report¹⁶ is incorporated therein which at ¶I describes these fees as “annual charges…for the availability of use of the recreational facilities above described.”¹⁵

Thus “service charges” and “standby service charge(s) for…the availability of” facilities are really two different kinds of monetary exaction¹⁷. Whereas the former are “fee(s) collected to pay for services related to (a)…product or service being purchased” added on to the charge for that product or service itself, the latter are exactions “for the (mere) availability of use.”

And now you know!

---

1. For instance, take a look at the Report For Collection on The County Tax Roll of Recreation Standby And Service Charges the Board typically approves at the same time each year it adopts a Resolution fixing the RFF/BFF [an example of the Resolution adopted for FY 2025-26 (No. 1917) appears 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“). An example of the Report appears at pages 112-117 of the 5/30/2025 Board packet]. The title of the Report refers to these two different types of charges.
2. See Hukle v. City of Huntington, 134 W.Va. 249, 58 S.E.2d 780, 783 (1950); See Clean Water Coalition v. The M Resort, LLC, 127 Nev. 301, 255 P. 3d 247, 256 (2011) citing State v. Medeiros, 89 Haw. 361, 973 P.2d 736, 741 (1999).
3. See Emerson College v, City of Boston, 391 Mass. 415, 424-425, 462 N.E.2d 1098, 1105 (1984),
4. See Stewarts’ Pharmacies v. Fase, 43 Haw. 131, 144 (1959) reh’g denied at 43 Haw. 166.
5. See our How Courts Have Instructed We Construe Statutes Impacting General Improvement Districts discussion.
6. See Arguello v. Sunset Station, Inc., 127 Nev. 365, 370, 252 P.3d 206, 209 (2011).
7. See State Farm Mut. v. Comm’r of Ins, 114 Nev. 535, 540, 958 P.2d 733 (1998); Erwin v. State of Nevada, 111 Nev. 1535, 1538, 908 P.2d 1367, 1369 (1995) [quoting Charlie Brown Constr. Co. v. Boulder City, 106 Nev. 497, 503, 797 P.2d 946, 949 (1990)]; and, Washoe Med. Ctr. v. Second Jud. Dist. Ct., 122 Nev. 1298, 1302, 148 P.3d 790, 792-793 (2006).
8. Go to https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/service-charge.asp.
9. Go to https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/wealth-management/service-charge/#:~:text=A%20service%20charge%2C%20also%20called,of%20a%20product%20or%20service.
10. Go to https://www.sf.gov/information–section-k-health-surcharges-hcso-administrative-guidance.
11. Look at your IVGID utility bill. In addition to charges for actual water used or capital improvement costs, you will discover a separate monthly “administrative” charge. In the credit card world this is service charge.
12. See Emerson College v. City of Boston, 391 Mass. 415, 424-425, 462 N.E.2d 1098, 1105 (1984).
13. Go to https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/20250514_PW_ScheduleofServiceCharges_2025_Adopted_05142025.pdf.
14. Go to https://www.yourtahoeplace.com/residents/water-sewer-bill-pay/.
15. In other words, recreation facilities!
16. For fiscal year 2025-26 that Report was labeled a “Report For Collection on the County Tax Roll of Recreation Standby and Service Charges.”
17. If they weren’t, why would the District use different names for the same kinds of charges?