The following are highlights from today’s Washoe County Board of County Commissioners meeting:
1. Board discusses recruitment for new county manager, appoints interim: Human Resources Manager Julie Paholke presented the timeline for recruitment for a new county manager, following County Manager Eric Brown’s announcement of his retirement on June 30. Recruitment will begin today with an expected appointment date of October 27 and a start date of January 5, 2026. HR will use the services of an executive search firm to assist finding and vetting the top candidates.
Assistant County Manager Kate Thomas was appointed to serve as interim county manager beginning July 1. She will receive a 10 percent salary increase for the time that she serves in this role.
“Ms. Thomas has an incredible career in government in the State of Nevada,” Chair Alexis Hill said. She has served in the Secretary of State’s office, worked at the City of Reno and managed their budget, which was close to a billion dollars, and has been a committed public servant at Washoe County.”
Chair Alexis Hill asked her fellow commissioners to provide questions or qualities they would like to see in a future county manager so they can be considered during the recruitment process.
“I want to be sure that that is included and that our ‘Ideal Candidate’ statement is something that we all come to a consensus on,” she said.
2. Update on homelessness highlights vast regional collaboration and challenges: Division Director of Housing and Homeless Services Dana Searcy presented an update on the services for those experiencing homelessness and facing housing insecurity in Washoe County. She noted the more than 40 partners in the community that provide services to this vulnerable population. Previously shared data shows a 53 percent decrease in unsheltered clients as the capacity for shelter around the community has increased. Since July 2023, Washoe County has placed more than 1,100 individuals into permanent housing.
Newly calculated data from the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) shows that most people who are newly added to the homeless database each month were residents of Washoe County when they became homeless. Of the 14 percent of people who were homeless before they came to the area, most of them came from California or elsewhere in Nevada.
“Specific to where people are coming from, we do collect information, but it’s left questions,” Searcy said. “We need to know not where someone is coming from, but were they homeless when they got here, and if so, where were they sent from? And that’s a very different question.”
Washoe County has changed its methodology for counting and tracking homelessness in order to present a more comprehensive look over a 90-day period. Thirteen new programs were added to HMIS in the last year as well, providing more accurate data to the overall database. This results in an overall increase in the number of identified homeless over time, while the trend has remained relatively flat.
The data shows that increasing rents and lack of available affordable housing, paired with high unemployment and few new resources, will continue to pose challenges to decreasing homelessness.
“What we as policy-makers owe you is more tenancy support, more access to permanent supportive housing units, we need affordable housing units, we need the ‘missing middle’ to continue to be a major focus for our region to develop,” Commissioner Mariluz Garcia said. “You’ll just continue to spin your wheels all day long in emergency shelter if we don’t address those larger system issues.”
3. Board approves agreement for EMS in Gerlach: County Commissioners voted to approve a contract with Royal Ambulance, Inc., to provide emergency medical services to the Gerlach area for a two-and-a-half-year term with an option for a two-year extension. The annual cost of $603,000 will cover staffing, equipment, and operational support. The Gerlach area has historically faced challenges in maintaining adequate emergency medical services due to its geographic isolation and limited local resources.
“Providing service for fire and EMS in Gerlach – a small community – is very difficult for Washoe County. We have tried various ways to do this over the years,” Assistant County Manager Dave Solaro said. “The community needs have changed over the years. While we have a great group of volunteers who are trying to do their best to provide services up there, it’s really difficult to get a group of strong volunteers out of a community of 140 people.”
Royal Ambulance, Inc., was recommended by the Burning Man organization and has demonstrated the necessary qualifications, experience, and readiness to fulfill the requirements outlined in the agreement, ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulatory obligations.
4. Board conducts hearing to finalize CAB code amendments: The Board passed amendments to provisions of the Citizen Advisory Boards (CABs). The county code related to CABs has not been updated since 2013, requiring a review and update to align with the current purpose of the CABs.
Washoe County Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gustafson provided an outline of possible code amendments including recommended procedure and practice changes.
The amendments update the standard bylaws and clarify that the purpose of the CABs are to advise the county commissioner in whose district the CAB is located, as well as the county commission, on matters of concern within Washoe County’s governmental jurisdiction.
“Aligning for the districts was very important to my district because I have had people who have applied who live in my district who – the way it’s written – aren’t eligible. For me, that is exclusionary, not intentional, and I believe that the way this is written gives more opportunity for everyone to participate in the districts to which they live and work,” Commissioner Clara Andriola said. “I am going to support this as written because I think it gives the clarity that’s needed, the legal compliance that’s needed, and I want to thank you for all your hard work.”
Other changes include a requirement that the geographical boundaries of the CABs fall within a single commissioner district; allowing persons residing within one mile of the geographical boundaries of the CABs to serve as board members; requiring applications to be kept on file for one year rather than three and a half years, and requiring the terms for alternates to align with the terms of board members; removing a prohibition on CAB members from concurrently serving on the County’s planning commission and/or Board of Adjustment; amending various provisions to comply with current Nevada Open Meeting Law requirements; and removing provisions duplicative of state law.
5. Board approves grant to support permanent supportive housing: Washoe County Human Services Agency, Housing and Homeless Services, received a $5.5 million grant from the State of Nevada Housing Division to provide clinical services, support services, operations, training and administration activities at the Nevada Cares Campus.
Supportive housing is an innovative and cost-effective approach to addressing chronic homelessness that combines affordable housing with services for homeless households who face complex medical, mental health and/or substance use issues that are co-occurring. Washoe County was awarded a Home Means Nevada Initiative grant to build an affordable 50-unit supportive housing building in the community. This project was completed in April this year, and with the grant approved today, will open this summer.
6. Board approves appointments to county boards and commissions: The board approved the following board appointments:
- Rob Pierce, member of the Washoe County Planning Commission, to the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Commission for a full-term beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2028. He is currently serving a partial term to end June 30 this year.
- Tami Ruf to the Washoe County Library Board of Trustees for a second four-year term, which will end on June 30, 2029.
- Andrea Schumann to the Nevada Local Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council (NLJRCC) for a two-year term ending June 30, 2027.
- Caron Tayloe to the Washoe County Advisory Board to Manage Wildlife (WCABMW), for a three-year term ending on June 30, 2028.
7. Commissioners approve District 3 Funds for free swim day: Commissioner Mariluz Garcia allocated $2,000 to the Sun Valley General Improvement District (SVGID) to support a free swim day and popsicles at the Sun Valley Pool on July 5, 2025.
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