City supervisors OK $116 million budget

The Carson City Board of Supervisors approved a $116 million budget Monday they describe as conservative, but which has funds to promote redevelopment.

The budget adds two deputies in the jail, while several other jobs are classified as provisional because they were fully or substantially paid for using grant money. Several city jobs have gone unfilled.

The budget features an array of cost-cutting measures.

The city saved $100,000 when the city dropped its equipment maintenance insurance policies in favor of self-insuring. The jail reduced expenses by $50,000 and refinancing of redevelopment debt should save the city another $20,000, according to City Manager Linda Ritter.

Set aside, however, is $8.4 million for economic redevelopment incentives. A portion of this, $3.6 million, goes to Dick Campagni as incentive for purchase of six acres of land on South Carson Street to house a new Toyota dealership.

How the rest will be spent depends on whether other business investors show interest in doing business, according to Supervisor Robin Williamson.

"We will just save it until we have a project to use it for," said Williamson, who is also the chairwoman of the Carson City Redevelopment Authority.

There are no immediate plans for any specific incentives to be awarded and, if necessary, the money could be put back into the city coffers for operating expenses, she said.

"It's there to provide incentives should we have the opportunities to do that," Ritter said.

"It's an investment in the future, and are one-shot expenditures," Ritter emphasized. "

It is separate from regular redevelopment area funds, which are culled more slowly, she said.

Any plans for the rest of the money, roughly $4.8 million, must be approved by the supervisors, and could include bringing it back into the general fund should the need arise, Ritter added.

The Sierra Forest Fire Protection District will have a budget $775,000. Nevada Division of Forestry runs it, and property owners in the west hills next to U.S. Forest Service land pay additional property taxes to help fund it.

Law enforcement, emergency response, courts, water, sewers, health and street repairs will cost nearly $90.5 million, or comprise about 78 percent of the total budget.

Another $10.9 million will be used to operate parks, recreation and library services.

The budget is for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2007.

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.