Council also proceeds with Redevelopment Agency plan
Additional reporting by Kristen Hackbarth
Accusations of impropriety overshadowed discussions held this week by the Reno City Council on the Reno Police Protective Association (RPPA) union agreement. The negotiations, which included a 5% salary increase each year for the next three years, were overshadowed by discussions of impropriety and personal financial gain.
Council member Devon Reese’s law firm, Reese, Ring & Velto, provides legal services to union members for duty-related legal actions and discounted legal services on other matters. Despite Reese recusing himself from voting and leaving the room during discussions, Council member Jenny Brekhus continuously accused Reese of financially benefitting from the contract.
She said the union “deserves so much” but that their leadership has approached the bargaining negotiations in bad faith by hiring a member of the city council to represent them. Her vote “no” is a message to the RPPA leadership that they should rethink hiring Reese’s law firm, she added.
Several city staff and council members clarified that the RPPA union was represented in the contract negotiations by the Sacramento-based Mastagni Holdstedt law firm, not Reese or his law firm.
Brekhus held firm with her concerns.
“We have a member who has a financial interest in the outcome of our largest labor contract,” Brekhus said. “It’s an appearance of impropriety.”
Council member Kathleen Taylor shot back, asking, “Didn’t Councilwoman Brekhus also have a conflict of interest in one of the negotiations that was a personal interest too? I’m sorry but this theater or whatever we’re calling it that something is going on is completely incorrect.”
“It’s a scare tactic and conspiracy theory that we’re always hearing from over here, and it’s really unsettling,” Schieve said. “I want to get through this and get the work done … instead of being angry all the time,” she added, referring to Brekhus.
The three year contract will cost an additional $12.2 million and includes 5% annual pay increases, additional pay grade step increases, and incentives for special assignments, such as SWAT team, and for multi-lingual skills.
Council member Naomi Duerr said it was a big expense and may “crimp” the city going forward.
“I made comments when we approved the contracts with the other employee groups. They agreed to much less, in contrast,” she said. “I am just sounding a note of caution … I don’t think we’ll see this type of contract next go around because I think we’re going to be in a different financial world next time.”
The collective bargaining agreement was approved with Brekhus voting against and Reese recusing himself from the vote.
Redevelopment update
Operating as the Redevelopment Agency, Council members heard an update on the Redevelopment Agency Status Report, which gave an overview of the city’s history of redevelopment going back to the late 1960s.
The city’s Revitalization Manager Bryan McArdle said to get the agency active again partnership agreements need to be established, a requirement of Nevada law. He outlined requirements that partner participants must meet before they can approach the agency for support.
“I think we should have a discussion on that before we create forms to take taxpayers’ money and give it to private people.”
McArdle said he looked at 80 redevelopment agencies nationwide and developed a list of five participation programs: building facade and tenant improvement, tax increment financing assistance, capital improvement projects, property disposition for infill and “catalyst project” assistance, which support large scale anchor projects such as corporate campuses or adaptive reuse projects.
Council members Miguel Martinez and Kathleen Taylor all said they were pleased with the presentation and looking forward to what may come from additional redevelopment.
Council member Brekhus, however, said she had a different view. She said she was concerned because a plan, complete with partnership forms and processes, was prepared over a nine-month period by city staff with no council member direction.
“Administrative forms to give money to private parties. Is that the business we’re going to be in? You tell me,” Brekhus said. “I think we should have a discussion on that before we create forms to take taxpayers’ money and give it to private people, and that’s what I’m seeing here. We haven’t given direction to that. You have upward of a half billion dollars to give away to people, and how is that worked?”
McArdle said the forms and process outlined weren’t replacing the public process, but set a minimum standard for information city staff needs to determine if a project should be brought before the agency board for consideration.
“This is just standard due diligence,” McArdle said. “Otherwise we have no standard operating procedure on how to bring anything in front of this body.” 
He confirmed that if the plan is not approved it would leave city staff with no process or standards for how developers or other partners can submit proposals to the city for redevelopment projects using public financing.
Mayor Hillary Schieve said often city staff is faced with a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation when it comes to working with the council. She pointed out that city staff was criticized for bringing forward the Bash Capital proposal to redevelop the Community Assistance Center because there was no clear process for it, but now that they’re outlining a process they are also receiving push back.
Council members, acting as the RDA board, approved moving forward with the plan 5-2, with Brekhus and Duerr voting against the motion.
Council discusses legislative bill draft requests
Council members heard an update on potential Bill Draft Requests which included charter committee recommendations, changes to the capital surcharge fund, changes to the residential construction tax, sewer/enterprise fee waivers and an update on fire regionalization and consolidation conversations.
Council members directed staff to prioritize housing affordability and to continue to work with regional partners for regionalization or consolidation of fire protective services.
Council members also asked again for legislators to be invited to meet with council members to discuss local issues.
A final approval of BDR language will come before the Council in January ahead of the 84th session of the Nevada Legislature.
Reno city manager search continues
The Reno City Manager Search has been ongoing since former City Manager Doug Thornley resigned. Council heard an update on a recruitment brochure and strategy, which was developed based on feedback from council and stakeholders.
