New Storey comptroller wants to give something back to hometown

By Karen Woodmansee

Appeal Staff Writer

Storey County is growing enough that county officials have decided to hire a comptroller, the first one in recent history.

But this one won't have to work too hard to get to know the county.

Hugh Gallagher III, son of Hugh Gallagher Jr., the former Storey County school superintendent who died in May 2006 and after whom the elementary school in Virginia City is named, will start his duties around Feb. 19, said County Manager Pat Whitten.

"We are really excited to have him join us," Whitten said. "As we grow both in size and complexity with our developer issues out of TRI, we need someone with his expertise."

Gallagher was born and raised in the historic mining town, and Whitten said he has a broad background in both public and private finance, good experience to be comptroller. He will be in charge of auditing accounts and supervising the financial affairs of the county.

Gallagher said homesickness was part of the reason he sought the Storey County job.

"I know they're not busting out of their seams yet, but they've got a lot of things going. There's an opportunity there to go back home and be some help and do some things and see if I can't be a plus," he said.

He said he wants to build a foundation so that the county can start looking at its progress year in and year out.

"I'm going to jump in head first instead of feet first," he said. "Try to get the county to the point where it's self-sufficient and keep it that way."

He said he didn't like what's going on with the economy and added it was tougher on municipalities, with the state wanting to keep more of the tax money.

"Sales tax is going to take a hit, gaming is going to take a hit," he said. "If I can help them get through that it would be good."

Gallagher, 60, is the only noneducator in his family, opting instead for a financial career, especially in casinos, a natural for a native Nevadan.

He earned a degree in business at the University of Nevada, Reno with a major in accounting, and after serving three years in the military became the in-charge accountant at the firm of Semenza, Kotinger and McMullen in Reno.

He did a stint as head of the audit division for the Nevada Department of Taxation, getting a taste of public finance.

His most recent work was as a senior accountant for Holder Hospitality, but also worked for 15 years for the Comstock Hotel Casino in Reno and later with Lodging and Gaming Systems.

"I sold application software and hardware for the casino businesses. It's used for accounting purposes," he said. "Since I understood the gaming foundation, I taught people what a casino was all about."

He went all over the U.S. and Canada helping casinos set up their books, including Indian casinos, but now he's coming back home.

He said he was done with the gaming business.

"I'm going to be a real student here for quite awhile," he said. "It's not a big challenge but it's something worthwhile because it's home and that county has taken care of my family for a long time. It's payback time."

• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 881-7351.