Carson City leaders give update on State of the City
Carson City leaders addressed a packed banquet room at the Gold Dust West today to discuss the State of the City in a program put together by the Carson City Chamber of Commerce.
Mayor Bob Crowell, Supervisor Shelly Aldean, Sheriff Kenny Furlong and School Board Chair Joanna Wilson each spoke to the crowd, and in general agreed that while these are challenging times, each made the case that things are going well and improving.
Mayor Crowell pointed out that advanced planning by the city led them to reduce the budget by 25 percent, and cutting the workforce by 100 employees, thus easing the strain on future budgets. He also noted that sales tax revenues are up, but that the city will have to take on $1.3 million a year in costs that used to be paid for by the state.
Crowell also said the freeway project is scheduled to go to bid next year, and will hopefully be completed by 2014.
"We've been talking about the freeway since I was a kid," Crowell said as the audience laughed. "This time, I think it's going to happen."
Supervisor Aldean, who is chair of the city's redevelopment committee, recounted the progress that has been made in recent years, including a much-improved downtown, the new car dealerships that are still in the city and not in Douglas County, and the once-empty buildings on South Carson Street that are now occupied and bringing in sales tax revenue.
Aldean also noted that the city's redevelopment focus has shifted away from controversial incentives, and will instead work to build infrastructure.
There was no mention of the much talked about Nugget Project until the Q&A session at the end, when columnist Guy Farmer asked about it. Mayor Crowell said that the project has "gone back to the drawing board" in an effort to reduce the cost and make it feasible. Both Crowell and Aldean said they would vote against the $31 million project as it was last presented to the board.
Sheriff Furlong said that despite the bad economy, crime rates have continued to drop. He noted that even the weather was cooperating, as February showed a huge drop in crime because it was snowing all month.
Furlong said part of their success is that they are putting more people in jail and keep them off the streets. He said they are jailing people at twice the state average.
Despite budget cuts that reduced the department's staff, Furlong said their response times have actually improved.
"The top ten list of calls for service, you have to go to #10 before you get to a crime," Furlong said. "That is good quality living in a community, and everyone should be proud of that."
School Board Chair Wilson said the district is in strong financial shape.
"We are the only financially solvent school district in the state of Nevada, and I expect in the whole West," she said.
Wilson said the high school graduation rate is 91.9 percent, and the dropout rate is .6 percent, both much better than the state average. She recounted several of the district's successful programs, including how Bordewich-Bray Elementary School was recognized for having the best after-school program in the nation.
During Q&A, a question was asked about the Ormsby House. Supervisor Aldean said that Metcalf Construction had been contracted to finish the project and had made significant progress. City Manager Larry Werner said the owners had set a goal to be open by Nevada Day, which he said they will not meet, but "they are getting close."
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