Budget town hall draws interest

About 30 people turned out on Monday night for a presentation on the town, county and state budgets.

The session featured County Manager T. Michael Brown, lobbyist Mary Walker, Gardnerville Town Board member Robin Bernhard, Genoa Town Manager Sheryl Gonzales and Minden Town Manager Roger Van Alyne.

Walker repeated the oft-heard message that the 2011 Legislature is going to be difficult.

"Next session all bets are off," she said."The Legislature is looking at taking property taxes and replacing them with unstable sources."

The $7 billion state budget is expected to be cut by $3.5 billion.

She said the last Legislature swept every source of revenue clean.

She pointed out that when the state makes cuts, it either looks to the counties' revenue sources for additional money, or mandates services without providing funding.

"Cuts in mental health meant that those people ended up in the jails and in the court system, which is a very expensive and horrible way to help them," she said.

Walker said Nevada has one of the most centralized governments in the United States.

"We're the hometown for Nevada," she said. "Most of the people who work for the state live in the area."

County Manager T. Michael Brown agreed with Walker.

"You might have heard the state is having a major fiscal crisis," he said. "They are either looking at taking our money or passing on services to us and not paying for them."

Van Alyne said the town's future lies in its water supply, which it is in the process of sharing with the rest of Carson Valley.

"We're going to put signs on the water fountains, that say 'Free sample of great Minden water,'" he told the crowd.

Planning work on a pipeline between Minden and Carson City is under way. Another pipeline will go to the east Valley where the town will build a water tank.

Resident Stuart Posselt called Brown to task on the consolidation of the water systems.

"You're asking me to repair someone else's well," he said.

The town hall meeting was sponsored by the Douglas County Democratic Central Committee and the Douglas County Democratic Women. Carson Valley Toastmasters moderated the event.