New Year presents plenty of challenges

Carson Valley and Douglas County will face many challenges during the next year.

Budgets for government, business, and pretty much any other endeavor will be strained by decreased revenues and increased demand during the year.

Reports on assessed valuation, taxable sales, gaming revenues and unemployment have all had a downward turn. Both taxable sales and gaming revenues have posted numbers lower than in the previous two years.

Unemployment numbers have been high, but even when they drop, it means people are leaving to find a better life. Assessed valuation is dropping because people are paying less for the homes that they buy.

Whether it's the county, the school district or a road district, they all get their money from those folks whose businesses or employment is being hurt by the recession. Efforts to increase government revenues result in an increase in personal expenditures, feeding a cycle that could do more damage than good to the local economy.

But busts are nothing new in Nevada, and we've weathered them before. It's like we're wandering through a dark forest. There's no way of telling how close you are to being out of the woods until you step out of the gloom and into the sunshine.

Here's hoping 2010 will be the year we all take that step into the light.