We Came Together Tonight

I'm proud to report that the City Council has come together and unanimously directed staff to move forward with a long-term solution to deal with the Bond Debt Assessment.  Of course, anyone reading my previous letters knows how I feel about this issue.  But, we have finally come to a point where we had to take action; the final action will be on May 16th.

The decision was based on a $30 Assessment that will be collected on the property tax bills.  There will be a .6 factor applied to will-serve lots, making it in the $18 range.  It was necessary to collect the assessment on the property tax bills in order to broaden the assessment base so that everyone could pay a more equitable share. The current $18 Temporary Assessment will go away, probably in July.  So it is a net $12 - $13 increase.

Our emergency Water Enterprise Fund reserves are also dangerously low, so we have factored some funds into the fee to begin to build up our emergency fund in case a major component fails like a pump or a well.  We have depleted most of these funds covering bond debt and we must re-build some capital to guard us in these areas.  To increase the current safety factor immediately, we are dedicating the money we saved in the general budget this past fiscal year, about $863,000, as a backup fund to the Water Enterprise Fund in case we have an emergency occur before we build up some reserves.  We simply cannot loan the money to the Water Enterprise Fund without specific loan documents approved by the State of Nevada, which may not be attainable since we cannot prove that the Enterprise Fund could repay this money.  We can give it to the Enterprise Fund, but once we do it is gone forever, for by statute it is a one-way street.

Thank You to staff for working with the elected officials in providing the endless data we were requesting.  I would also like to thank all of my counterparts on the council, we certainly have our differences but we came together when we had to in the best interest of the people of Fernley.

I hope that once the good people of Fernley weigh all the facts, they will understand what a difficult decision this was for everyone who had to step up to the plate.  None of us have a crystal ball and while voting to build this particular Water Treatment Plant in 2007 proved to be a mistake, I do believe the mistake was made with good intentions by the elected officials at the time.  The fact is that at the time there were over 7,000 tentative mapped lots in Fernley, which would have doubled our size by about now had they been developed.  The economy is all that prevented that from happening.

I believe that the council will continue to look for ways to reduce this assessment over time and eventually make it go away completely.  We still must make sure that this tone of language finds its way into the final resolution.

Thanks for Listening,

Cal

Current Office:

Councilman Cal Eilrich was sworn in on March 19, 2008. Cal was orignally appointed by the City Council to fill a vacancy in Ward 5 and then was elected in November of 2008. His term expires after the 2012 Elections.

NOTICE

All articles contained on this website are strictly my opinions; they are a reflection of my life experiences and from the perspective of serving on the Fernley City Council. I do not speak on behalf of the City of Fernley; I am but one councilman. I reserve all civil rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, including the 1^st Amendment.

Thank You,

Cal Eilrich

Learn more about Councilman Cal Eilrich by clicking here.

I set up this website as a means to communicate to not only my constituents in Ward 5, but all of the good citizens of Fernley. Many folks might wonder why anyone would want to hold public office in a small city like Fernley. I think anyone that does so, truly cares about their community. I have always appreciated those who have served in these capacities, although God knows I haven’t always agreed with them on many of the issues. Whether I agreed with them or not, I did always respect them though. You may not agree with some of my decisions either, but if you use this site it won’t be due to lack of communication and not understanding where and why I stand on the issues.

Why Me?
I stepped up and put my name in to do this job because I cared deeply about where Fernley is heading in the future. I have to admit something though, I changed my mind on whether to submit an application for this position a half dozen times on the day I submitted it. I finally did it, but not without reservations. Those reservations included the time commitment away from my family and businesses, and just plain getting involved with “small-town politics”. My commitment to helping our future finally outweighed the reservations, after I realized that I have a “dog in this fight” just like you do. My wife and I plan to stay here the rest of our lives and our kids work and live here, and our grandchildren and future grandchildren I hope will be proud to stay here too.

Hard Work & Taxes
Yes, I’ve been in business for many years, but I started my concrete business with an old pick-up truck, a wheel barrel, a shovel and a bag of cement trowels. I came up the hard way and am a self-taught building designer, carpenter, and have the tools and learned every trade necessary to build a home from the ground up. It wasn’t that many years ago that I was pouring concrete every day for a living. The point is, that I know what a hard day’s work is and I can relate to and respect anyone who works for a living, because I always have and still do. We all have worked hard for whatever we have. I believe in as low of taxes as possible to provide the services that our citizens want and need. A city government is the closest form of government to the people and I believe we provide the most services for the least amount of tax revenue than any other form of government.

Economy & Fernley’s Future
This economy is tough on everyone. The most important thing right now on my mind is to play a part in helping Fernley recover as soon as possible. The good news is, Fernley sits right in the middle of some of the most desirable industrial property in the world. Between Wade/Lakemont and the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, the job potential is unbelievable and I am a firm believer that Fernley’s future is indeed bright, that is unless we shoot ourselves in the foot. I’ve played a large role in bringing about a positive change in our development codes, to make them more user friendly, so that we can compete for quality companies with quality jobs for our citizens. I have also played a large role in bringing about a change in Fernley’s Administration. I will continue to fight for Fernley’s future and the future of our citizens, because to me they are one in the same.

Water Treatment Plant Debt
I was one of 3 people that stood before a former City Council trying to convince them that spending, at that time, 43 Million Dollars of a Water Treatment Plant was a bad idea. Now the price is about 76 Million, since we didn’t know at the time that water transmission lines were left out of the original price tag. Now, that I’m on the City Council, I’m not going to cry about past decisions. Instead, I must do everything in my power in finding ways to pay our bond debt. The prior section about our economy and future is an absolute key factor in paying for this debt. I’m also currently researching ways for other options which can defer the debt to better years ahead once growth has returned.

My Decision Process
There are many issues that a City Councilman must consider that confront the City of Fernley. I do my best to approach each and every decision with an open mind. I do not take polls on the various topics, since there is no accurate way to scientifically conduct a poll with this number of citizens. Not only that, but polls are usually very misleading as those conducting them can ask very tainted and misleading questions, especially if those asking the questions have a political interest involved in the outcome. I do try to read all comments that I do receive via email, phone messages, letters, etc.. It might be one person that has an idea or thought that may sway my opinion on any given subject matter.

I’m no elitist, but in our form of government, a Representative Republic, it falls upon elected officials to research all sides of an issue to the best of their ability, before casting their votes. A citizen may express a very valid viewpoint, but they may not take into account other aspects of the issue that may outweigh their viewpoint. It is a rare thing that any decision is ever black and white or right and wrong. They almost all require some judgment or mitigation on the part of the elected official.

Sometimes with really tough issues, I gather my thoughts best by writing position papers. Because of my secondary career in the shooting sports, I’ve been the leader of some fairly involved and highly political organizations. I’m a published author and have been fortunate to have had articles published in a number of magazines and also have served as the editor for some other monthly publications. This experience has given me the ability to process words and as a benefit to the citizens of Fernley, I share my thoughts on many complicated issues facing the city through these words. Communication is absolutely a key factor to give citizens a real understanding of how and why their government works.

Complainers & Attackers
If you just want to just complain about government, then you will quickly lose my attention. If you want to just attack government officials because you’re just pissed at the world, it will just go in one ear and out the other. I try to avoid negative people like the plague, as I don’t want it rubbing off on me. I learned to avoid and ignore negative people as a champion competitive shooter decades ago, I don’t see any reason to change now. I choose to focus my front sight on solutions that make things better for Fernley. I believe that is what the citizens want me to do.

Positive Problem Solving
If you seek answers, I’ll do my best to find them for you. If you have positive ideas that might solve some problems, then I want to hear them. If you have a valid concern, I would like to hear your viewpoint. Please understand that City Councilmen don’t have a staff, this position is supposed to be just a part-time commitment. I do have other business concerns and I must still work to make a living. If you leave me a message or send an email and don’t hear back within a week or so, sometimes I travel or am busy working and it takes me time to get caught up. Sometimes emails and phone messages don’t make it through or get lost, so try me again if you don’t hear back, as I don’t want to ignore anyone. Emails are probably the most efficient way to get an answer back a.s.a.p.

I wish everyone in Fernley Best Wishes,

Cal Eilrich, Councilman Ward 5 (City of Fernley)