Top headlines from the Board of County Commissioners Meeting

by | May 17, 2022

Board of County Commissioners

The following are highlights from today’s Washoe County Board of County Commissioners meeting:    

1. Board conducts hearing on Washoe County Budget for 2022-23: The Board of County Commissioners has previously heard updates on the proposed budget for FY23, which begins July 1, 2022. Today the Board conducted a public hearing on the tentative budget and adopted the final budget.

The approved budget of over $1 billion incorporates Board priorities of funding for existing contractual obligations, supplies, utilities, personnel costs, unfunded mandates from the 2021 Legislative session, second year property tax refunds, increasing role supporting regional Homeless Services capital improvements and operations, maintaining the County’s assets and infrastructure needs, and operating budget requests. It also funds an additional 97.52 full-time equivalent positions (FTEs).  

“I think we have an exciting budget for our community to get behind. We’re hiring new parks staff, a new sustainability manager, we’re helping our internal auditor and internal affairs department. We’re supporting public safety,” Commissioner Alexis Hill said. “I’m very excited to support this budget and looking forward to seeing how we can best use our resources. We’re a service agency and we’re moving forward with these great positions to serve our community.”

2. Board approves Capital Improvement Plan: The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is a five-year plan for the county’s capital improvements including park facilities, including trails, open space, and regional parks; libraries; roads under purview of the County; purchase of light and heavy fleet equipment; utilities infrastructure; capital outlay for major equipment; and County buildings and other facilities. The CIP is limited to capital projects with an estimated cost of $100,000 or more for assets that have a lifespan of more than one year. The FY2023 total for the plan is just over $159 million, which is a combination of one-time transfers and carry-over projects and is funded in the FY23 Final Budget, which was also approved by the Board today.

The bulk of the budget will be dedicated to building projects. These projects include roof replacements, elevator improvements, parking lot rehabilitation, flooring and technology upgrades. Other areas that will receive funding are Parks, Libraries, Utilities, Roads, and Technology.  

3. Board approves contract with Volunteers of America to staff Nevada Cares Campus: The Nevada Cares Campus emergency shelter was developed by City of Reno and opened on May 27, 2021. The shelter included basic infrastructure, utilities, and a Sprung Structure. The Cares Campus is also the site of the County’s Safe Camp location. Volunteers of America (VOA) has been the contracted operator since the emergency shelter opened. After the transition of the Nevada Cares Campus from City of Reno to Washoe County on September 1, 2021, contracts were identified to be transferred to Washoe County from both City of Reno and Volunteers of America. Among those contracts is the operator of the emergency shelter. Today the Board of County Commissioners approved a new contract with VOA to operate and staff the shelter through June 30, 2024, with the option to renew for three one-year periods, in the amount of $6.5 million per year. This expense was previously approved by the board in the Washoe County Homeless Services Fund.

4. Sheriff’s Office receives transfer of Mobile Outreach Safety Team Program: The Mobile Outreach Safety Team (MOST) is a program of locally operated intervention teams that work with law enforcement in response to individuals with mental health conditions who are in crisis. MOST Teams provide intervention to divert individual from unnecessary admission into the criminal justice system, emergency rooms or in-person psychiatric facilities. They also coordinate outreach services and referrals to partner agencies, behavioral health providers, and social services.

The Washoe County MOST program is currently housed in the Human Services Agency. Today the Board of County Commissioners approved the transfer of the program and its six positions from HSA to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office. Having MOST and WCSO paired under the same operational structure allows for better case management and continuity of care. When MOST Teams respond to calls, they free up deputies to concentrate their efforts on priority crimes and allowing MOST and Case Management the ability to identify problems early and come to a resolution before additional victimology or tragedy occurs. 

“This is the first sheriff I’ve worked with in over 15 years who has shown so much compassion and humanity and a willingness to look at things differently when it comes to law and order,” Commissioner Kitty Jung said. “I’m so proud of what you’ve done, Sheriff Balaam, quietly without any accolades, transforming how this region is policing and showing compassion.” 

“I see this as a first step in regionalizing this team,” Chair Vaughn Hartung said. “You know clients by name. You know what services they need, what services you’ve tried to connect them with, and you can really hold them accountable. If you have a client who is Washoe County but they end up in City of Reno, there could be disconnect, so I see this as a first step in regionalizing that process so we can be more effective.”

5. County Commissioners read proclamations for special recognitions and received donations: Board members read three proclamations today, honoring the following:

The Board also received the following donations: 

  • Face shields donated to the Nevada Cares Campus from AmerisourceBergen in the estimated amount of $1,488 
  • Various hygiene items donated from the Washoe County Housing and Homeless Services Amazon Wishlist to the Nevada Cares Campus from various community members, in the estimated amount of $196.17 
  • Various winter clothing items donated to the Northern Nevada Continuum of Care from the non-profit, We Serve with Helping Hands, for the Point in Time Count totaling an estimated market value of $285.24  
  • Various miscellaneous items donated to the Northern Nevada Continuum of Care from the Reno Collective, for the Point in Time Count in the estimated amount of $50 
  • Non-perishable food with an estimated value of $15,000 from Convoy of Hope to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office for the Patrol Division to distribute to community members in need.  

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