Reno City Council & Redevelopment Agency Board
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
What Happened
Reno City Council and Redevelopment Agency Board held a budget workshop on April 24, 2013, reviewing fiscal year 2013-2014 finances with roughly 15 major topics debated.
Key Decisions
CONTINUED — Fire Department hiring (eight positions vs. two waivers) — vote count unavailable — deferred to May 6; SAFER grant requirements and staffing minimums prevent cost cuts
CONTINUED — Council salary automatic 1.7% CPI increase — vote count unavailable — City Attorney noted pending charter revisions; side resolution could eliminate escalator for newly elected members in two years
RESOLVED — Licenses and permits revenue increase — attributed to business volume growth, not fee changes
RESOLVED — Traffic fine budget variance of $1.7 million — overly optimistic fiscal 2013 projections ($2.9M budgeted vs. $1.5M actual); corrected to $1.5M for fiscal 2014
Debated But Not Resolved
Federal funding compliance — Council asked if city tracks intergovernmental revenue as percentage of total budget to ensure federal matching requirements are met; staff to provide percentages and standards
$10 million fund transfers — Council requested breakdown showing what portion is debt service and whether it's within or outside Redevelopment Agency; staff to provide detailed breakdown
Art in Public Places cut to $0 — Council questioned whether 2% art dedication requirement is consistently applied across all city agencies (RTC, TMWA); staff to provide resolution establishing requirement
Economic impact measurement — Council noted current survey methodology for special events is flawed and overly simplified; staff committed to improving via UNR and Reno Chamber partnership using iPad surveys, but no current data available
Job quality post-recession — Council noted 58% of nationwide job recovery is low-wage part-time work; staff acknowledged Nevada/Reno lagging with leisure/hospitality sector (lower-wage) driving growth, but no specific tracking assigned
Multi-family housing data reliability — Council argued Johnson-Perkins data (200+ units only) misses duplexes, triplexes, subsidized housing; staff acknowledged methodology needs improvement for local policy decisions
Property tax appeal monitoring — Council asked whether city participates in or monitors assessment appeals; staff indicated close communication with assessor but no formal attendance at proceedings
What to Watch
$43.4 million — Sales tax (sea tax) revenue — general fund
$42.6 million — Property tax revenue — general fund
$42 million — Franchise fees, licenses, permits combined — general fund
$90,000 — Graffiti abatement (two maintenance worker positions) — Community Pride Grant/asset forfeiture
$85,000 — Art in Reno project (prior year, unfunded) — art allocation
$200,000 — Capital Improvement Program savings reduction — budget balancing
Fire hiring decision (May 6) — Council must decide between eight firefighter positions or waivers for two positions; SAFER grant expiration adds $8M to general fund fiscal 2014
Arts funding reallocation (May 6) — Room tax being redirected from arts to special events; Art in Public Places cut from $200,000 to $0 pending council approval
Hiring freeze impacts (May 6) — Police patrol officer and dispatch staffing levels under freeze; staff to present mitigation strategies
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