Reno's Battle of the Budget Continues

At its December 10 meeting, the Reno City Council continued the struggle to deal with millions of dollars in revenue shortfalls. Their stated goal is to avoid layoffs of city employees, and to that end a number of proposals were made. One of the biggest issues being eyed by the Council is the millions in overtime being paid out, particularly to the Reno Fire Department. Councilwoman Jessica Sferrazza called the situation "abuse" and unfair to other city workers. She said she isn't buying that it's all public safety related and called for hiring an independent auditor to compile overtime details. However, she agreed to delay such a move until city staff has a chance to gather the requested information. Councilwoman Sharon Zadra proposed a minimum 10% across-the-board cut in overtime expenses.

The Council is also trying to obtain concessions from the city's employee unions. Councilwoman Sferrazza pointed out what she described as non-essential expenses included in some contracts, such as hundreds of thousands of dollars allocated to pay for clothing and dry cleaning. Councilman Dwight Dortch said, "We all hope the economy will stabilize, but if it doesn’t, we will need more concessions from the bargaining units in order to save jobs." It was reported that the unions have been meeting with City Manager Charles McNeely, but no specific agreements have been reached. Among the steps being considered are a reduction in the work week to 38 hours and canceling a 2.1% raise due in January.

The Council has already chopped $23 million from the $189 million general fund. A worst case scenario, described by Finance Director Andy Green, would require an additional $17 million in budget cuts and result in up to 500 city employees being laid off.

Councilman Dave Aiazzi proposed a series of town hall meetings to solicit suggestions from Reno citizens. These will be held in January, with times and dates to be determined and announced in the next few weeks. At the Reno City Council meeting scheduled for January 28, 2009, the results of these various moves will be discussed. By then, the Council hopes to have a clearer picture of the fiscal situation and more information on what may be needed in the way of additional cuts to the budget.

Update: Reno's General Fund just received an unexpected infusion of $700,000 from the city's Municipal Court Judges and Court Administrator. The money comes from administrative assessment fees collected as part of the fines imposed by the court, and is usually used to enhance court operations. This year, however, a different use was found for the funds. Judge James Van Winkle said, "This was done in response to the financial challenges facing the City. We're glad to help where we can."

Sources: Personal attendance at the December 10 Reno City Council meeting, City of Reno press release, Reno Gazette-Journal.

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