The following are highlights from today’s Washoe County Board of County Commissioners meeting:
1. Board receives preview of county’s billion-dollar fiscal year budget: Washoe County Budget Manager Lori Cooke presented the proposed Fiscal Year 2024 Budget with estimated appropriations of just over $1 billion. The budget represents the Board of County Commissioners’ vision for key strategic goals: fiscal sustainability (regionalization of emergency dispatch services), economic impacts, net zero carbon emissions by 2050, affordable housing and vulnerable populations, and innovative services (equity and improved elections system).
Washoe County’s economy has seen significant recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. At the height of the Pandemic, regional unemployment was 19 percent; today it is 4.5 percent. While the regional economy is expanding, the County faces the same economic pressures from supply chain constraints, rising interest rates and prices in addition to a labor shortage as are faced by many urban regions in the nation.
“This is the year we’re choosing to invest in our employees,” County Manager Eric Brown said. “As you know we conducted the Korn Ferry compensation study, and the centerpiece of what we would like to do in the year ahead is to focus on getting our compensation administration right. In addition to that, we are following your guidance on other strategic priorities, most notably voters. There’s money in this budget to address the voter registration system that needs to be replaced.”
While the County’s economy is rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is slowing down due to the after-effects of the largest federal stimulus program in history, business closures, halting operations and pandemic layoffs linger in interest rates, prices and supply constraints. The County is realizing higher prices for goods and services, struggling to hire employees and recognizing higher-than-expected pension and benefits increases partially due to decreased market valuations of investments. As economic growth slows, the County’s revenue growth is also expected to slow, and resources will not support all needs and budget requests for funding in FY24.
In the face of these headwinds, the Board of County Commissioners and County Manager Eric Brown have directed a deceleration of any new ongoing expenditures in the Fiscal Year 2024 Budget. A full explanation of the economic situation and the County’s proposed budget can be found here.
S&P Rating recently upgraded Washoe County to an AA+ bond rating in response to the county’s growing and diversifying tax base, very strong financial management, positive operations, and manageable debt burden and costs.
Final budget adoption will be scheduled for the Board of County Commissioners’ May 16 meeting.
“I think the team did a beautiful job taking this balanced approach and presenting all these recommendations to us today, and tying it back to our strategic priorities,” Commissioner Mariluz Garcia said. “And I appreciate Manager Brown’s efforts to improve compensation for our employees and continuing to listen to the various department needs throughout the county.
2. Commissioners agree on service to various boards and commissions: Each county commissioner represents Washoe County on a variety of other local boards and commissions. Today the Board discussed the nearly three dozen boards requiring their service and self-assigned members to those boards. View the full breakdown of board assignments here.
3. Commissioner Garcia allocates District 3 Funds to Sierra Arts Foundation: County Commissioner Mariluz Garcia requested approval of $2,500 of her District 3 Special Fund for Sierra Arts Foundation. Sierra Arts will purchase supplies for the creation of “art care packages” for students exiting the Jan Evans Juvenile Justice Center. This is part of the Washoe County Leadership Academy’s inaugural class project.
4. Board approves audit service contract with Eide Bailly LLP: Nevada law requires local governments that expend $750,000 or more in federal awards to provide an annual audit of those grants. Washoe County currently expends about $40 million in federal awards. Washoe County’s previous auditor closed it Reno office and no longer has staffing in northern Nevada. In order to secure local expertise, Washoe County sought a local agency to take over the required audit, and Eide Bailly LLP won the contract for the FY23 report at an estimated cost of $212,500 and $16,000 for each major program in relation to the compliance audit over major federal award programs.
5. April is proclaimed National Donate Life Month: The Board of County Commissioners presented a proclamation declaring April as Donate Life Month. As noted in the proclamation, 600 Nevadans are currently on the national organ transplant waitlist, with an average of 22 people dying each day in the United States due to the shortage of donated organs. To receive the proclamation were representatives from Donate Network West and the Nevada Donor Network, and Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner Dr. Laura Knight.
“Before our program started in 2017, there was no way to donate organs or tissue if you died in your home,” Knight said. “There have been hundreds of donations because of those referrals that have impacted thousands of lives.”
Knight was featured on the “Washoe Life” podcast this month, along with Monica Myles from Nevada Donor Network.
6. Board commemorates National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week: Washoe County emergency services, including the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, celebrated National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week April 9-15. The Board presented a proclamation in observance of the week that honored the vital dispatch personnel who support more than 500 public safety personnel 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across county, city, veterans, and tribal jurisdictions. Sheriff Darin Balaam was present to receive the proclamation on behalf of the 24 communications specialists, one communications call taker, five supervisors, and one center manager who serve at the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center.
“These are our unseen heroes, all the individuals up there, the calm voice on the other end of the phone when you call for help, when you’re in distress, and they’re reassuring you as they get those first responder resources there,” Balaam said. “So thank you to the Commission for acknowledging our telecommunications specialists.”
7. Board approves donations to county departments: The Board of County Commissioners approved various donations from residents and local companies that support county department and programs. They include:
- Cash donations of approximately $2,600 for Washoe County Parks and Open Space;
- Cash donations of just under $2,300 for Washoe County Regional Animal Service.
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