Reno City Council & Redevelopment Agency Board
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
What Happened
Reno City Council and Redevelopment Agency adopted the FY2021 budget and fee schedule, with debates over pandemic spending cuts, employee raises, and reserve levels. The meeting covered roughly 20 items over several hours.
Key Decisions
APPROVED — FY2021 operating budget totaling $761 million with status quo staffing and full pension funding — Unanimous — City maintains current service levels while establishing bi-weekly budget review meetings to monitor COVID-19 impacts
APPROVED — Deletion of City Council salary increases from budget — Unanimous — Council forgoes raises as leadership example; legal cleanup resolution to follow at May 27 meeting
APPROVED — Clean and Safe Team conversion from pilot to permanent full-time staffing — Vote count not specified — Expands street-level safety and ambassador services
Debated But Not Resolved
COVID-19 budget cuts — Councilmember Weber wanted speculative deficit projections and across-the-board cuts now; staff and others argued without concrete data, cuts would be wasteful if impacts prove smaller — Council will revisit after September when departments present 5%, 10%, 15% reduction scenarios
Employee pay increases — Councilmember Jardin questioned 2–2.5% scheduled raises for most staff; city noted director raises frozen but other increases tied to collective bargaining agreements — Council to discuss council pay increase (set for 2.8% on July 1) at next meeting
Room tax funding decline — Councilmember Doer concerned $6 million revenue drop from casino closures will devastate parks, arts, and homelessness programs — Continues as council weighs priorities
Fund balance targets — Doer advocated 15–16.67% reserves (two months operating costs) versus city's 12% projection — Unresolved
City Hall seismic retrofit — Councilmember Breakfast requested pause due to economic contraction; Doer supports proceeding for building safety — Clarification needed on contract status
Redevelopment Agency funds for Fourth Street — Councilmember Brekhus asked if increment could redirect to street safety team; staff needs legal review on consistency with redevelopment plan — Legal analysis pending
What to Watch
$224,000,000 — General Fund operating budget — General Fund
$55,000,000 — Sewer fund bond issuance — Bond
$6,800,000 — Retiree employee insurance (PEBO) — General Fund
$2,200,000 — Retiree medical trust — General Fund
$1,800,000 — Public Safety Center debt payment — General Fund
$1,800,000 — CDBG projects — CDBG funds
September budget reduction plan — Directors will present phased cut scenarios (5%, 10%, 15%) showing how city shrinks at each level. Council needs concrete data before major layoffs.
Council pay increase resolution — May 27 meeting will address legal issues around council's decision to waive 2.8% July 1 raise and formalize in resolution.
Fourth Street redevelopment funds — Legal review of whether increment financing can shift from original plan to fund safety and ambassador services along corridor.
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