Carson City sales tax revenues were either flat or down in every category citywide last month, officials learned Thursday.
City Manager Larry Werner told the board of supervisors that they will be faced with making significant changes in fiscal year 2010-11 if revenues don't pick up.
"It's just not a pretty picture at all," Werner said.
Werner, in presenting the monthly report card for the city's 2009-10 business plan, said he would likely be back in November to make recommendations for strategic changes to help the city withstand the economic crisis.
He said by fiscal year 2010-11, Carson City will need to start looking at mandatory furlough days and evaluating how to restructure workloads as positions are vacated.
But, Werner warned, "managing the workforce won't solve the problem," and even though it appears the private sector of the economy is starting to turn around, "we trail 4-5 years behind the private sector" so there could be very significant cuts during the next few years.
"It's not pretty, but it's not catastrophic," Werner said.
Another objective of the business plan, which calls for a safe and secure community, was addressed in the report card.
Werner told the board that the jail population was growing.
Sheriff Kenny Furlong said his ideal ratio was 180 inmates to one officer, but that the ideal had been surpassed and the facility was reaching 90 percent capacity.
"Crime hasn't increased and the jail population has gone up, so it seems to be a revocation issue. It appears to be a strong stance by the district attorney's office and the courts that rather than scolding (those who violate probation) they're revoking," Furlong said.
Furlong called the Alternative Sentencing Program very effective, adding that some of the same offenders are being re-arrested regularly.
"Some of these offenders simply need to be in jail. Continual offenders aren't being tolerated," he said, "and all three jurisdictions (Carson City, Douglas and Lyon counties) are looking at the same trend."
Furlong predicted that if the trend continues, the Carson City Jail would be at capacity sometime in 2010.