WASHOE COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
The Washoe County Board of Commissioners held its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, March 12, and took action on items including the Truckee Meadows Law Enforcement Chaplaincy recognized Commissioner Bonnie Weber for her years of service to the program; approved the sale of up to $165 million in fuel tax revenue bonds for the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) for the construction and maintenance of roads; accepted the resignation/retirement of Washoe County Recorder Kathryn Burke and approved the appointment of Larry Burtness to the position; received a presentation from Jeff Fontaine, Executive Director of the Nevada Association of Counties on the recent activities and priorities for the 2013 Legislative Session; accepted the Cashman Good Government Award from the Nevada Taxpayers Association (NTA) recognizing the County’s Fundamental Review of every program and service; and proclaimed March 15, 2013 as Milt Anderson Day for his generous support of the community.
Chaplaincy honors Commissioner Weber: Item 5. The Truckee Meadows Law Enforcement Chaplaincy (TMLEC) honored Commissioner Bonnie Weber for the years of service she has provided to the all-volunteer and nonprofit group. Chaplain Rob Garlock, and Kristen Remington and Mike Alger from KTVN TV, former board members of TMLEC, presented a plaque to the Commissioner. The TMLEC is a nonprofit charity organization dedicated to providing chaplaincy services to the law enforcement agencies of Northern Nevada. TMLEC was created in 1996 and has since invested thousands of hours supporting and assisting local law enforcement through many difficult situations.
Sale of up to $165M in fuel tax revenue bonds: Item 16. The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) approved the issuance of fully registered, Washoe County, Nevada Highway Revenue (Fuel Tax) Bonds to finance the RTC’s street and highway construction and improvements within the County. The RTC proposed conducting the bond sale for multiple road projects. The bonds will be repaid with the proceeds from motor vehicle fuel tax and special fuel tax revenues implemented by the passage of NV SB201, which was the legislation that stemmed from the Ballot Initiative RTC-5 approved by Washoe County voters in 2008. This is the last in a series of four bond sales and this sale is scheduled to occur next month. No Washoe County revenues will be used or required to repay these bonds as the bonds are not an obligation of the County. The bonds will provide funding for local construction jobs. View the RTC’s Long-Range Plan here.
Retirement of Washoe County Recorder Kathryn Burke: Items 8 & 9. Burke has served as Washoe County Recorder since she was elected in 1998 and is retiring to spend more time with her family. “I feel my biggest accomplishment for the Recorder’s Office has been to move the office from a manual recording process to a top of the line technology automated recording system,” said Burke in a statement to the BCC. Larry Burtness, Chief Deputy Recorder since 2001, was appointed to fill the position. Burtness has been with Washoe County for 15 years.
NACO update on 2013 Legislature: Item 10. County Commissioners received a presentation from Jeff Fontaine, Executive Director of the Nevada Association of Counties (NACO) on the recent activities and priorities for the 2013 Legislature. Fontaine reported NACO is tracking more than 300 bills in the Nevada Legislature that could impact counties throughout the state. He believes the impact the Governor’s budget will have on counties this year will be less than previous years. Fontaine also said the budget won’t restore all the revenue that has been shifted away from counties to the state; nor will the budget restore services shifted from the state to the counties. NACO is also tracking several bills that impact state taxes and several that may impact county revenue, but the main issue regarding taxes is the perceived need to conduct a comprehensive review of the state tax system.
Cashman Good Government Award: Item 12. The Washoe County Manager’s Office was awarded the Nevada Taxpayers Association (NTA) 2013 Cashman Good Government Award by NTA Chairman David Turner. The Washoe County Manager’s Office was honored for its ongoing Fundamental Review Project which was initiated by a Citizen Committee last year. The project evaluated every County program and function to increase efficiency and reduce costs by identifying 64 recommendations, totaling $26.8 million in potential savings for Washoe County. This is the third time Washoe County has been recognized with this award since the award was created in 1998.
Milt Anderson Day: Item 6. The BCC proclaimed March 15, 2013, as Milt Anderson Day. Anderson was a longtime Washoe County resident and the owner of Western Industrial Parts, and was recognized for his ongoing contributions and dedication to the citizens of Washoe County. Anderson passed away in January, and his family expressed their appreciation for the recognition, talked about his many contributions to Northern Nevada and asked the BCC to remember the work of small-business owners and their contributions to Washoe County.
