Every other year Nevada communities get a chance to pump new blood and/or new ideas into their local governments. Another such opportunity begins Monday, the opening day for election filing. It’s short and sweet…runs about a week.

Whoever wins Supervisor Wards 1 or 4, or the Mayor’s slot will face daunting challenges as they take over “part-time jobs.” They’re anything but part-time. The problems facing the city are certainly formidable, from gangs and drugs to economic development. Like it or don’t, the city’s financial troubles are the result of myopic, narrow-minded tax policies from the legislature on down. Only in Nevada can men and some women in businesses suits believe that as a state grows, you shrink the range of services. Kinda like the more kids you have, the less food you buy.

So, the city will have to continue living with this totally illogical approach to government the best they can. It’ll come down to relying on the growth in property values and a frantic pursuit of sales taxes amid hopes the country’s economic recovery will quickly save our bacon.

Another major problem is, trying to regain control of the city’s growing cost of labor. Cities and counties in Nevada have a legal gun to their head everytime they sit down with labor groups….labor groups that have the power of binding arbitration on their side. Too often, outside arbitrators are summoned to decide whether a city or county’s wage/benefit package is fair. And labor wins a lot. As their wages go up, those higher costs fall back on Nevada’s downright stingy tax structure which is basically property taxes which are now capped, and sales taxes which are now anemic. Cities and counties don’t get gaming taxes…they pretty much all go to the state.

Still wages are going up, up, up. There are well over 25 city employees who are made millionaires every eight years thanks to “tough” bargaining with the city. That’s right, when you add up wages, overtime, benefits and retirement…these folks are made millionaires every eight years. And workers right underneath them are made millionaires twice within their 20 years of service.

Is this wrong? It depends on your perspective. The cost of living in this country has skyrocketed over the past 15 years. Many would argue that it takes a career-long million dollars to live the “American Dream.” But what about the average taxpayer? He/she certainly is no millionaire and they have the perfect right to ask “what’s goin’ on here?”

We hear it all the time, that if you want to live in a small, charming, more cozy little town, be prepared to make a small, cozy little paycheck. However, we’ve seen over and over again “wage comparison studies” that show Carson City “isn’t keeping up with wages in surrounding counties.” And that is as it should be. Those surrounding counties (Washoe mainly) have huge tax bases that Carson City doesn’t have. They’ve got property taxes (although capped) that are in the billions of dollars. They’ve got sales taxes (although slowed) that are exponentially greater than Carson City’s. So a reasonable person might ask, why does Carson City even try…even try, to keep up?

The rule has always been, if you want to make more money, move to where the money is. If you want to move up, you usually have to move out.  But, again, Carson continues to try to run with the “big dogs” with “puppy money.”

The big challenge for our Supervisors and new Mayor will be to confront the city’s almost insurmountable challenge to keep wages “attractive” without losing the farm.  As it is, it costs Carson City somewhere around $3 Million dollars more a year to keep services right where they are. That’s 2.5 Walmarts, 5 Home Depots, or 6 Burlington Coat/Sportsman’s Warehouse complexes ADDED every year. And you and I know that ain’t gonna happen.

If we do nothing, we’ll soon find that our Library, Health (note most recent resignation), Parks and Recreation, cultural activities, streets and other services will slowly begin to erode, because raising fees won’t change things enough in those departments.

That brings us back to property taxes.  Could extra money come from property taxes?  We’re about to find out as the Supervisors have put a 12.6-cent per hundred tax increase on the ballot for strengthening emergency services. But will even that 12.6-cent increase carry the freight over the long haul? An analysis of those employee costs show they nearly double in 7 years. But will property values rise fast enough to shoulder that extra cost?

It’s a bet with the devil. A bet, as in Nevada’s main industry. Gaming. Nevada is what it is. Always betting on the come. But is this any way to run a city in a state that is in the top three for growth? (I see heads shaking out there.)

So what should our new/incumbent Supervisors and new Mayor do? First, see what they see, know what they know and ACT appropriately. The board MUST get a handle on costs. It probably means going to the legislature and demanding that the rules change so that just because the city might have some money in the bank it’s not automatically assumed to be the personal property of the employees. Many can argue quite rightly that based on Nevada’s hapless vulnerability to swings in the economy, local governments should have a year’s operating revenue in reserve instead of the recommended one month.  Secondly, cities and counties should not be hit over the head with endless “salary comparison studies” that try to hammer our elected leaders into complying with ever-higher wage rates that begin to border on the absurd - FOR COMMUNITIES AND TAX-BASE OUR SIZE.  If informal polls run on our website and on the Nevada Appeal’s are any indication, Carson City voters are not going to let largely unexamined and simply-announced needs for higher revenues for services motivate them to vote yes. They’ll need a lot more detail on the whole context of city services and wage rates. And they’ll have to get to a point that they think the city’s gross amount and value of property will rise enough to where the same block of taxpayers will pay a declining proportion of the total tax amount. They’ll have to believe that growth will dilute their contribution and therefore be less painful FOR THEM. Again, it’s a bet with the devil.

We’re going to see more of these “outside the cap” tax initiatives. The Library is preparing to float one of their own.

From a broader perspective…from an altitude 50,000′ view, the state is going to have to go after those with the big bucks, namely business across the board, big gaming and mining. Only when these sectors pay more of their fair share of the tax load will the state be able to let go of some of the sales and property taxes that should rightfully stay in the cities and counties where they’re generated.

So…that’s the backdrop for being a supervisor or mayor. Understanding what got us into this pickle and what range of options should be used to get us out.

Yeah…part-time.

The Western Nevada College Wildcats swept two from Eastern Utah today, 5-0 the first game and 8-2 the second, with the Wildcats scoring six runs in the sixth inning. The Wildcats were watching College of Southern Nevada’s games today in hopes they’d drop one but CSN swept their games just like WNC so no automatic crowning of the Wildcats as league champs.

The Wildcats now head for Las Vegas where they will compete in the Region 18 tournament.

The number of calls coming into emergency 9-1-1 are coming in in greater numbers and at a higher levels of complexity. Also, there’s a growing trend for people to use “VOIP”, or voice over the internet type telephone service. And locating cell phones regardless of whether an accident or crime victim is lying unconscious needs upgrading as well…this according to one who will soon be leading a committee through a maze of technologies and learning how they might apply to Carson City 9-1-1.

Carson City Redevelopment and the Nugget are hiring a consultant that will take the Nugget and the City through a number of scenarios on how success can come to the downtown. Also as it relates to the Nugget’s plans for a new baby Hilton Hotel and Convention Center.

If voters want to say yes to raising taxes on larger businesses in the state (gaming/mining), then they better pay attention to this story about how gaming and mining is trying to make sure they don’t.

Among those who don’t wear their seat belts, teen agers are the worst offenders. That’s why sheriff’s deputies will be out prowling our streets and highways in search for those who don’t wear them.

Geothermal is creeping ever-so-slowly into our lives with what they call abundant energy…energy enough to power every single home in Reno 24/7.

An accused road rager yelled at, cut off, and threw rocks at an off duty deputy sheriff who quickly alerted 9-1-1. Moments later, the road rager was in custody.

A young woman with a two year old in the back seat was pulled over the other night by deputies who said the woman’s car was weaving back and forth across the centerline. When they pulled her over, she didn’t test out very well.

As expected, Pastor Ken Haskins of the First Christian Church has thrown his rock ‘n roll AM radio into the ring saying he wants to be the next Mayor of Carson City. Haskins, whose preaching can be as serious as any and his Dee-Jaying work as good as many, says he wants to give the voters of Carson City a fresh start. Haskins says he has no personal agenda, nor hidden one, in running. He says he’d like to bring fresh ideas, including low taxes to the fore, along with an emphasis on “controlled spending” to City Hall. Haskins has been a very active member of the Kiwanis Club and has headed up his First Christian Church since 1980.

Haskins is joined by several other candidates for Mayor including Dr. Sean Lehmann, Attorney Bob Crowell, and Real Estate Broker Jim Shirk. Filings for office begin Monday.