Local Governments Strategize Ahead of Legislative Session

by BRANDON RITTIMAN - December 15, 2010

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Local Governments Strategize Ahead of Legislative Session

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Dave Parker

The Nevada Legislative Building

With Nevada's legislature meeting only once every other year, you'd think nobody who could push through a Bill Draft Request would pass up the chance when it came around.

But that's what's happened at the city of Sparks and Washoe County.

Sparks leaders hoped the city's voters might pass an advisory question to increase the sales tax to pay for more police, and they filed preliminary paperwork for a bill that would do that.

But since the voters didn't want it, Sparks will withdraw its BDR and with the deadline this week to file, won't go after an alternate bill.

Washoe County Commissioners took a different approach. They decided not to file a BDR, saying the legislature has more important things to do in light of the state budget.

It may be something of an olive branch, hoping the legislature won't divert as much money from local governments into the state coffers as it did last time.

And that's a sentiment shared by all local governments, who want to make it clear to state lawmakers that at this point taking money from them to pay for things like education will take awayfrom important things the local governments do like operate fire departments.

Cadence Matijevich is a lobbyist for the City of Reno.

Matijevich: "I hope that we can find a way to maintain all of those vital services and that one doesn't come at the expense of another."

With another massive shortfall that'll be a tall order.

Despite the focus on the budget, the City of Reno isn't passing up its chance to introduce legislation. It's using all 3 BDR's it's allowed under state law.

The biggest one aims at helping the city's budget when it comes to its employees.

Reno wants to reform Collective Bargaining, the process local governments use to work out contracts with employee unions.

The city wants to be able to release information about those negotiations to the public during the process and put restrictions on benefits the workers can get in the contracts, particularly during economic downturns.