I’m very proud to say that WE DID IT!  In the “Call to Action” that I issued in November of 2009, I asked that we find a way to avoid the final Water & Sewer Rate Increase that was schedule for July 1st, 2010.  The Fernley City Council achieved that last night June 2nd, 2010!  While we didn’t cancel it completely, we did suspend it for one year.  Our citizens and businesses need a break, even if it is a small one.  It has taken a lot of hard work by a lot of good people to get us to a point where the City Council could feel comfortable making this decision; and it was unanimous! 

I’ve gotten some phone calls from time to time from citizens who are fed up with government; all government national, state and local.  I have had people actually tell me to fire everyone that works at the City of Fernley and start over. 

First, it is not a City Councilman’s job to fire anybody.  However, it is true that the City Council can vote to terminate the City Manager, Treasurer, Clerk, City Attorney and the Judge, since we are actually the ones that vote to hire them; and t takes at least 3 council members to take any action.  Even a majority of the City Council can’t vote to terminate any other employee with the city, since that would be in direct violation of Ordinance 1.  By law, we are not allowed to get involved with day to day personnel issues of any kind.  It’s the council’s job to approve budgets, set policies, approve development and represent the city in many ways.  Micro-management of departments and employees is not our job.  That is the job of the various department heads and ultimately the City Manager.

In My Opinion……..

I have had the honor to serve on the Fernley City Council since March of 2008.  Like many of you reading this letter, I have been in almost a state of panic with concern for how our city was going to financially survive the Water Treatment Plant Bond payments.  This subject has cast a dark cloud over our city government.  It has taken over two years to finally uncover the real facts and I wanted to share them with anyone who follows my website as soon as I could.  Government should always be as transparent as possible, for some reason bureaucrats often seem to want to conceal as much as possible, that is why there has been such a breakdown in trust in recent years between our government and the people they are supposed to serve.

The City Council just learned the truth about our cash reserves from our Finance Department.  I was wrong in my last report, we don’t have $12 Million, we have almost $21 Million!  These funds were deposited from 2002 through 2008, they were accumulated mainly by deposits made of surpluses from our General Fund, Water Fund and Sewer Fund.  Plus, they have earned millions of dollars of interest during those years.

However, these funds should not be squandered or spent carelessly, as we will have to replace infrastructure as it ages in the future.  We need to run a tight ship and balance our General Fund Budget.  Our staff has presented a Tentative Budget that accomplishes that, but of course it needs further examination and discussion.  We need to look at ways of reorganizing our staff to gain optimum efficiency, without cutting services to our citizens any more than we have to.

It is completely unnecessary to cripple our Community Development Department in a lame knee-jerk attempt to divert General Fund money into paying Water Treatment Plant Bond debt service.  That would have severe consequences and we would be cutting our nose off to spite our face, since that is the one department that can generate and facilitate necessary development for this community.  That means jobs for our citizens and future revenue for our city.  That is precisely where our cash reserves came from in the first place, as there would have been no water or sewer fund surpluses without community development.

           In my opinion, right now my biggest concern is that certain council members want to all but shut down city hall with budget and staff cuts in an attempt to balance the general budget and absorb the Water Treatment Plant Bond Payments all in one big cut.  The truth is that the city had built up a huge cash reserve (OVER $12 Million) when times were good.  It was placed in a Local Government Investment Pool and has earned millions of dollars of interest.  It took us months to find that pool of money after the departure of our former Treasurer.  None of the former city council members that I have asked, including our former Mayor, knew that this much money was there.  It raises my eye brows, but none the less, I’m glad it is there.  There are still those who say it isn’t there and they are wrong and it is all being brought to light at this time, including showing where and when the money came from, which was during the time period that growth in this city was booming.  This proves the point that “good development” does pay for itself and then some.  Show me a city that isn’t growing and I’ll show you a city that is dying.  Fernley did grow and I’m glad that this money was salted away during that time to get us through what we are going through now.