NAC360.390. Estimate for county, incorporated city or unincorporated town: Distribution by demographer; appeal; revised estimates.

     1. The demographer employed by the Department shall distribute to the designated representative of each county, incorporated city and unincorporated town the estimates of the population of the county, incorporated city or unincorporated town not later than the first state working day in December.

     2. A petition to appeal the estimates of the population of a county, incorporated city or unincorporated town must be submitted in writing to the Department not later than 2 weeks after the date on which the estimates are distributed. The petition must set forth the grounds for the appeal and include copies of all documentation supporting the appeal.

     3. Upon filing a petition to appeal, the petitioner shall give notice of the appeal to the county and all incorporated cities and unincorporated towns within the county.

     4. The Department will, within 5 state working days after receiving a petition to appeal, notify all counties, incorporated cities and unincorporated towns in the State of the receipt of the petition.

     5. An appeal must be based on at least one of the following grounds:

     (a) An error was made in the application of the methodology used to determine the estimates.

     (b) An incorrect assumption was made in developing the proposed estimates.

     (c) Additional information has become available which was not available or not used when the proposed estimates were being developed and the application of the additional information, if accepted by the Department and the demographer employed by the Department, would cause the proposed estimates to change materially.

     6. The Department and the demographer employed by the Department will review the petition and may issue revised estimates. If revised estimates are issued, the Department will notify the petitioner in writing of the revised estimates as soon as practicable. If the revised estimates are agreed to by the petitioner not later than 30 days after the date on which the written notification is issued, or within such additional period as agreed to by the Department and the petitioner, the Department will issue a written decision on the petition adopting the revised estimates as the estimates of the population of the respective county, incorporated city or unincorporated town. If the revised estimates are not timely agreed to by the petitioner or if the Department and the demographer employed by the Department determine not to issue revised estimates within 30 days after the submission of the petition, the Department will set the appeal for hearing.

     7. The appeal must be heard by a hearing officer of the Department in accordance with the provisions of NAC 360.043 to 360.200, inclusive. The Department will mail or transmit by facsimile machine to the petitioner and all counties, incorporated cities and unincorporated towns a notice of the date for the hearing during which oral arguments will be heard. The notice must be mailed or transmitted by facsimile machine not later than 5 state working days before the date of the hearing. Unless extended by the Department, an oral argument will be limited to 20 minutes.

     8. A decision of the hearing officer may be appealed to the Commission. A decision of the Commission is a final decision for the purposes of judicial review.

     9. An existing estimate of the population of any incorporated city or unincorporated town that does not submit a petition to appeal pursuant to this section will not be affected by any revised estimate that is agreed to by the Department and a petitioner pursuant to this section unless the Department determines that specific errors were made in the calculation of the existing estimate.

     (Added to NAC by Dep’t of Taxation, eff. 9-1-89; A by Tax Comm’n by R102-98, 11-20-98; A by Dep’t of Taxation by R150-10, 12-20-2012)