There’s growing rumblings on social media of the City of Reno getting increasingly undemocratic, while its budget veers into higher and higher staff compensation, especially in the police realm, dampened by flat sales tax revenues for a projected $26 million and rising budget shortfall for fiscal year 2026.
After mounting complaints of public speakers being ignored, too many council members stepping down during their terms and replaced by the existing council rather than by voters in recent years, and then becoming favorites for developer contribution money, now comes more troubling undemocratic seeming Spring "weather."
One such unwelcome move is to suddenly implement a 90-day staffing hiatus on multiple boards and commissions, including the Access Advisory Committee, Arts and Culture Commission, the Human Rights Commission, Recreation and Parks Commission, Senior Citizen Advisory Committees, Youth City Council and Neighborhood Advisory Boards among others.
Another development causing gasps is the City of Reno’s current legislative effort to get its council members to obtain constant control over appointed planning commissioners, after tensions between members of the two bodies became evident due to data centers and their potential effects on local quality of life.
This is coming through State Senate Bill 48 which as worded now would allow City Council members to remove a planning commissioner for what is known as “just cause,” without a public process or stated reason.
Expect public comments to rain down this week at City Council with lots on the agenda on Wednesday, but as noted previously, some feel these are increasingly unheard, so the next possibility to curb these rainy undemocratic trends might only be the ballot box for Reno’s next big mayoral race, ending the Hillary Schieve era, in 2026.
Our Town Reno Citizen’s Forum Contribution, May 2025
