Reno City Council & Redevelopment Agency Board
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
What Happened
The Reno City Council and Redevelopment Agency Board met May 14, 2019 to work through the fiscal year 2019-2020 budget, addressing a $227,000 general fund shortfall and a $268,000 room tax fund shortfall across roughly 20 major spending and policy items.
Key Decisions
APPROVED — Staff to incorporate council recommendations into final budget for next meeting — Unanimous — Budget will return with staff's proposed changes built in, but major allocation choices still pending.
APPROVED — Staff to contact Convention and Visitors Authority about co-funding the $550,000 special events program — Unanimous — City will explore sharing this cost rather than fully funding from city budget before May 22 final vote.
CONTINUED — Sustainability coordinator position funding — Deferred to building and development advisory committee — Currently covered by expiring grant; council wants scope of services reviewed before deciding whether to fund as permanent full-time position through building enterprise fund.
Debated But Not Resolved
General fund shortfall ($227,000) — Council must choose between cutting two park rangers OR cutting senior planner, economist, and engineer positions. One councilmember suggested alternative of cutting sustainability analyst instead. Staff says other general fund positions don't exist for cutting.
Room tax safety equipment ($268,000) — Three options on the table: reduce affordable housing fund from $700,000 to $432,000; reduce special events funding; or both. Council worried about disrupting special events already under contract with organizers.
Police staffing — Council debated placement of 12 new officers: 10 to patrol, 2 to other locations, with possible trade-off of park rangers for river area community action position.
Arts and Culture funding structure — Proposal to give Arts Commission dedicated 25% of room tax revenue instead of pulling from general fund. Delayed to 2020-2021 budget cycle for further vetting.
Park Districts funding — Council member questioned $2.3 million discrepancy between park district accounting and staff numbers; requested full review of park district funding and city obligations.
What to Watch
$1,600,000 — Police and fire staffing adjustments (additional officers, EMS manager, equipment) — General fund
$1,800,000 — General fund capital projects including fire hydrant replacement, fire equipment, vehicles, ADA park upgrades, facility maintenance — General fund
$1,200,000 — CDBG grant projects: pedestrian ramps, ADA bathrooms, housing rehab, facility repairs, playground equipment — CDBG grant
$850,000 — Reno Events Center improvements — Room surcharge fund
$45,000,000 — Sewer pump station repair and replacement — Sewer fund
$15,000,000 — Street maintenance and rehabilitation — Street fund
General fund shortfall decision (May 22) — Council must choose which positions to cut to balance $227,000 deficit before final budget adoption. This determines whether parks lose rangers or planning department loses key staff.
Room tax safety equipment funding (May 22) — Decision on which fund sources to reduce for $268,000 safety equipment will affect either affordable housing programs or special events that organizers already committed to.
Sustainability coordinator position (Summer 2019) — Building and development advisory committee will review scope of work; council will decide by October whether to fund as permanent role or lose the position and greenhouse gas reduction programs.
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